Idol-maker Indrajit Pal says that had Durga Puja been round the corner, he wouldn’t have to think too hard for a theme for his idols. He would have depicted the war against Ukraine in the backdrop of the pandemic, showing science being used to manufacture weapons as well as vaccines.
“But the war is likely to be over by then (Durga Puja begins on October 1 this year), so I will stick to COVID as my theme — what exactly I will show I am not going to tell you because someone might steal the idea,” says Mr. Pal, among the first in Kumartuli this year to begin work on the iconic Durga idols.
Mr. Pal, however, doesn’t want any acknowledgment for that — that he is among the first to start work on Durga idols this year; what he wants recognition for is that he recently made a suspense thriller, Black Rose, which he released on YouTube. “Idol-making is my profession, but filmmaking is my passion. I have made 14 short films so far. All it takes is just one film going viral, and then I shall be successful and rely less on idol-making, which is no longer profitable,” says the 50-year-old artisan, whose savings saw him through the pandemic.
