Playwright Chandan Sen declares to return ‘Dinabandhu Mitra Puroshkar’ in wake of RG Kar rape-murder protest

The demand for justice and protest over RG Kar rape-murder incident is nowhere near dying down. The demonstrations and rallies seeking justice for the victim and her family are intensifying by the day. People from different pockets of society are coming forward, raising their voice for the cause. Artists from the Bengali entertainment industry are joining hands in these protests as well.From actors, technicians to musicians – the artists are registering their dissent for justice. Thespians are no exception. Veteran thespian Chandan Sen has declared that he wanted to return the highest honour in the field of theatre, ‘Dinabandhu Mitra Puroshkar’. In an unprecedented move, the acclaimed playwright has declared to return the prestigious award. This is the first time that a government award recipient has decided to return such a prestigious award in the wake of the protests against the RG Kar rape-murder incident.
A few days ago, actor-politician and an MLA of Trinamool Congress Kanchan Mallick urged the protestors to return the award they had been bestowed by the government. Veteran playwright Chandan Sen felt insulted by his statement. On Tuesday morning, he announced to return the ‘Dinabandhu Mitra Puroshkar’, the highest honour in the field of theatre given by the state government in 2017.

Chandan Sen revealed that after Kanchan Mullick’s rant on social media, he felt it was insulting for him to keep the award the State Government had given him and informed that he had already sent an email to the Secretary of Information and Culture Department of the state. The thespian revealed that he had sent an email on Tuesday morning stating that he wanted to return the prize money of the award.
Chandan Sen revealed that his father had been a doctor in the government hospital for almost 40 years. The veteran thespian said that he shared the pain and plight of the doctors and declared that he would rather be a part of the doctors’ movement. The acclaimed artist also revealed that he joined in the march with the Indian Medical Association.