In the Bengali web series ‘Bijoya’, Swastika Mukherjee plays a widowed mother who saves for her son Nilanjan’s education, hoping he gets into a reputed college. In real life, Swastika, a single mother, has been saving for her daughter Anwesha ever since she started working. And like any mother, Swastika’s heart was full of joy when Anwesha graduated from Cardiff University recently. As people sit down to watch the recently released ‘Hoichoi’ series, ‘Bijoya’, the lines between real and reel life blur. Ragging is a social menace and the Jadavpur University (JU) ragging incident in August 2023 shook the entire nation. Swastika, who always believes in letting her work speak for itself, didn’t think twice when ‘Bijoya’ came her way. Watching ‘Bijoya’ will bring back the horrific memories of the JU ragging case.
An alumna of JU, Swastika felt devastated when she heard the news of ragging at her alma mater. While many today prefer to use ‘Facebook’ as a form of protest, Swastika chose to do so through her work in ‘Bijoya’. “There’s no point in screaming and shouting on social media. One day we post about ragging and the next day it’s something else. It makes no sense to me. Instead, I choose to speak out against ragging through my work in ‘Bijoya’. I didn’t think twice before taking on this project,” said Swastika.
The ‘Paatal Lok’ actress also mentioned how people have extremely short attention spans today due to social media. “Even my daughter tells me to post videos on ‘Instagram’ within 30 seconds, but how can I do that? Now, just imagine, when people don’t have the patience to watch something for 30 seconds, will ‘Facebook’ protests really help?” she said.
Swastika has played a mother several times on screen be it in ‘Mohomaya’, ‘Dil Bechara’, ‘Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach’ or the dark ‘Qala’, but playing Bijoya resonated with her. As a mother who constantly worries about her child’s safety living abroad, Swastika didn’t need to tap into special emotions as an actress to connect with Bijoya. It came naturally. “For Bijoya, an aggrieved mother on a quest for justice for her son, I needed to look the part. I went completely makeup-free and made sure I resembled any mother from a middle-class family,” she said.
Up next, Swastika has ‘Tekka’, slated for release during Durga Puja and the highly anticipated ‘Nikhoj 2’. With all shooting completed, she is now enjoying a two-and-a-half-month holiday on foreign shores. She is elated to reunite with her daughter in the UK. “I’ve never taken such a long holiday. Since January, I worked tirelessly to finish everything so I could take this vacation,” she smiled.