RG Kar protest: Theatre workers Chandan Sen, Biplab Bandyopadhyay, Sanjita return government awards

Kanchan Mullick said that those celebrities who received government honors might want to return their awards. Chandan Sen, Biplab Bandyopadhyay, and Sanjita return awards after this statement

Biplab Bandyopadhyay, Sanjita and Chandan Sen

The rape and murder of an on-duty junior doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital sparked protests across the city. From Tollywood celebrities to doctors and civic society – there have been rallies hosted by thousands of people daily. Amid the uproar, actor Kanchan Mullick made controversial statements about the participating junior doctors. He further said that those celebrities who received government honours might want to return their awards. 

Chandan Sen, Biplab Bandyopadhyay, and Sanjita return their awards

As a result, veteran playwright Chandan Sen, theatre director and actor Biplab Bandyopadhyay, and actress Sanjita decided to return their awards. While Chandan will return his 2017 prestigious Dinabandhu Mitra Puroskar, the highest honor in theatre conferred by the Paschim Banga Natya Akademi, Biplab and Sanjita will return the award they received for direction and supporting actress at Sisir Mancha in 2024 and 2021 respectively. 

'Spine is dearer than the prize money'

In his letter to Paschimbanga Natya Akademi, Biplab stated that ‘his spine is dearer than the prize money.’ He said that after Kanchan Mullick’s statement, the award seemed like a ‘burden’ to him. He further added, “It seems the government expected unquestioned support for it by offering this prize. Kanchan’s statement indicated that it is expected that I will not protest against their misdeed. I failed to understand this while receiving the award.” He added that he wished to return Rs 30,000 prize money to the government. Sanjita shared a similar statement. She said that the award ‘feels like a thorn to her’. She wished to return the prize money of Rs 10,000 to the government. 

In an interview, Chandan told Anandabazar that while he supported the protest from the beginning he did not think of returning his award. “After hearing what Kanchan said, I felt I have no rights to this award,” he said. The veteran playwright also said that he supports the doctors’ protest as he further served as a government doctor for 40 years. 

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