Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapur Films (RKF) is teaming up with Trickitainment Media to produce a biopic on Sukumar Sen, India’s first Chief Election Commissioner. This new project comes hot on the heels of RKF’s success with the SonyLIV series Rocket Boys, which told the story of Dr Homi J Bhabha and Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneers of India’s nuclear and space programmes, respectively.
According to Variety, the biopic will be based on Sen, the man behind India’s first general elections in 1951-52.
About Sukumar Sen
Sukumar Sen was not just a mathematician and civil servant; he was the architect of India’s transition from a British colony to a democratic republic. Tasked with organising the world’s largest democratic exercise, Sen managed an electorate of 175 million people scattered across 565 princely states and newly formed regions.
The logistics were mind-boggling. To pull off this monumental task, Sen and his team set up 224,000 polling booths, equipped with two million steel ballot boxes. They hired 16,500 clerks on six-month contracts to type and collate the electoral rolls by constituency.
Additionally, 56,000 presiding officers and 280,000 helpers were appointed to oversee the voting process. The security detail included 224,000 policemen to ensure the elections were free from violence and intimidation. In remote hill villages, bridges were built to facilitate voter access.
For small islands in the Indian Ocean, naval vessels transported electoral rolls to booths. In some forest districts, tribal people turned up with their bows and arrows, achieving an impressive turnout of 70% at one jungle booth. Meanwhile, another booth saw only an elephant and two panthers.
Despite the massive scale of the operation, Sen’s efforts culminated in a 60% voter turnout, laying the cornerstone of India’s democracy.
Roy Kapur Films Announces Sukumar Sen’s Biopic Ahead Of 18th General Elections Counting Day
The biopic announcement comes just as India gears up for the 18th general elections counting day. The film aims to showcase Sen’s monumental work and remind audiences of the incredible effort behind the electoral process that’s often taken for granted in the world’s largest democracy.
While it’s still undecided whether the biopic will be a film or a series, the project’s director and cast are currently being finalised.
Producer Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “We are so honoured to bring to life the incredible story of one of our national heroes, Sukumar Sen, who played a crucial role in shaping India’s democratic history.”
He further added, “From the system of identifying political parties by different symbols and colours to combat illiteracy, to the idea of indelible ink on fingernails to avoid voter impersonation—so many of his innovations are in place even today. His contribution to laying the architecture for our democratic process deserves to be celebrated, and we look forward to bringing this thrilling story to audiences in India and around the world.”
Sen’s grandson, Sanjiv Sen stated, “One of India’s greatest successes as a nation has been its successful democracy. The foundation of all democracies is free and fair elections, and the credit for laying the bedrock for this vibrant electoral process must go to Sukumar Sen, my grandfather and the first CEC of independent India. I wish the producers all the success in portraying the untold story of an unsung hero of this great nation.”
Debdatta Sen, Sen’s second grandson, added, “This is a laudable effort to make the people of our country aware of a remarkable person and his achievements.”
This biopic promises to be a fitting tribute to Sukumar Sen, highlighting his pivotal role in establishing the democratic processes that continue to define India today.
(Also read: Karan Johar, Jr. NTR, Ram Charan, Siddharth Roy Kapur And Mani Ratnam Are Invited For Academy Membership)
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