‘Kaagaz’, a biopic on Lal Bihari Mritak testifying his struggle for the living dead, would be released across India on April 24. The film aims to expose the glaring truth about the agony of people declared dead by unscrupulous relatives in a bid to steal their assets.
‘Kaagaz’, starring Pankaj Tripathi and Monal Gajjar in lead roles and directed by famous actor, producer and director Satish Kaushik, has been shot in Uttar Pradesh and is the second movie after ‘Chhapaak’ which is set to stir the social conscience of masses.
When Lal Bihari ‘Mritak’ started his struggle for the living dead by forming Mritak Sangh, an association of ‘dead’, he never thought that one day he would become the subject of a movie.
“The living dead is a big issue. Year after year people are declared dead by close kin to grab their property. This phenomenon is not limited to Uttar Pradesh. It is spread across the country,” Mritak told this reporter.
Lal Bihari of Mubarakpur in Azamgarh, who later added the suffix ‘Mritak’ to his name, was declared ‘dead’ in revenue records following the death of his parents and his home and land were seized by his relatives.
A victim of corruption and betrayal of his own family members, Lal Bihari fought for 18 years to prove that he was alive.
To prove that he was alive, he fought elections against former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh from Allahabad Lok Sabha constituency and against Bahujan Samaj Party founder Kanshi Ram in 1988. He also contested election against former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi from Amethi, threw pamphlets in UP Vidhan Sabha and even got himself arrested and demanded widow pension for his wife.
Following a struggle of 18 years, the government at last conceded that he was indeed alive.
Kaagaz directed by Satish Kaushik, famous for his works like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Tere Naam and numerous others, revolves around the persistence and steely resolve of a man seeking justice. The film was mostly shot in Lucknow, Sitapur and Azamgarh in UP.
Satish Kaushik said that he came across Lal Bihari’s story through an article in a newspaper after which he contacted him and later got the rights for the film in 2003.
“The idea of making a movie stayed with me for a long time as movies on such subjects were not so popular at that time, I postponed the project. Now, when biopic are accepted I made the film which will be released soon,” he said.
Well-known actor Pankaj Tripathi, famous for proving his mettle by way of movies like Gangs of Wasseypur, Stree, Masaan and web-series like Sacred Games and Mirzapur, is playing the lead role as Lal Bihari Mritak in the movie.
Responding to a question as to why he chose actor Pankaj Tripathi for the lead role, Kaushik said that he was a great actor with the ability to bring alive any character through his acting prowess.
“I was extremely impressed by him as an actor. He has a spontaneity in his acting,” he added.