Bangladesh: Oscar-winning director’s ancestral home begins to be demolished

Bangladesh, north of the capital city of Dhaka, father of world-renowned filmmaker Satyajit Roy Demolition of Jadad’s century-old house has begun.

The house was once used as the Mymensingh Shashu Academy, a government-run center for the education of children.

It is now being replaced by a new semi-concrete building, reports Bangladeshi newspaper ‘The Daily Star’.

Officials have cited concerns about structural safety, which have come to light after a decade of neglect.

Rai’s grandfather, Upendrakeshwar Roy Chaudhary, built the palace on a sprawling 36-acre site, about 120 km north of Dhaka.

The house is associated with several generations of cultural figures: Upendrakeshwar himself was a pioneer writer, publisher and technologist of the Bengal Renaissance, founder of the children’s magazine ‘Sandesh’ and famous for introducing modern halftone printing techniques to India.

His son Sukhumar Roy was a popular poet and humorist, whose nonsensical poetry is deeply influential in Bengali literature, and his grandson Satyajit Roy became a celebrated filmmaker in international cinema.

India’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Tuesday expressing ‘deep regret’ over the collapse and requested Dhaka to consider rebuilding it, as well as offering technical and financial support to restore the building.

“Since this building is a symbol of Bengali cultural revival, it would be better to review the demolition and consider the option of repairing and rebuilding it, so that it can be used as a museum of literature and a symbol of the shared culture of India and Bangladesh,” the statement said.

Satyajit Roy was born in Kolkata in 1921 and made his directorial debut in 1955 with his film ‘Padar Panchali’, which achieved worldwide acclaim and became the first film in his seminal ‘Apu Trilogy’, earning him numerous awards, including two Cannes Palme d’Ors and an honorary Academy Award in 1992.

Rai’s son Sandeep Rai said the filmmaker had planned to include images of his ancestral home in a documentary but abandoned the idea after seeing its dilapidated condition.

Speaking to NDTV, Sandeep Rai said, ‘I never went to Bangladesh to see this building, neither did Baba. [ستیہ جیت رائے] were gone All I saw were pictures of the building.

‘But I remember Baba wanted to use pictures of this building when he was working on Sukumar Roy’s documentary.’

Officials in Dhaka defended the decision, saying the building had become a danger to children and the new building would allow the academy to resume operations.

“The house was abandoned for 10 years, and Shashu Academy’s activities are running from a rented space,” Mymensingh district child affairs officer MD Mehdi Zaman told The Daily Star.

He added that the district administration and public works department have followed formal procedures.

Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal, which borders Bangladesh, wrote in Bengali on X that the news was “extremely disturbing” and called the Rai family “one of the most important bearers of Bengali culture”.

She wrote, ‘I appeal to the Government of Bangladesh and all the intelligent people of this country to take steps to preserve this heritage house. The Indian government should pay attention to this matter.’

Some archaeologists and cultural activists in Bangladesh lamented that despite the building’s historical importance, it was never formally declared a protected site.

Poet Shamim Ashraf told The Daily Star that appeals to save the place had been ignored and ‘the house had been in a dilapidated state for years, with cracks in the roof.’

Archeology Department field officer Sabina Yasmin also told the newspaper that repeated warnings were ignored.

Another cultural heritage site in this growing concern – Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral home in Kachhrabari, Sarganj, came under attack in early June following an altercation.

The incident damaged the auditorium while the director was assaulted, after which the 19th-century building was temporarily closed and an official investigation launched.

When a video of the demolition of the Rai family’s house started circulating online, some expressed regret and drew a connection between the two incidents.

Economist Sanjeev Sanyal wrote on X, ‘Tagore was silent when his house was damaged. They are silent when Satyajit Roy’s ancestral house is demolished. In fact, they are participating in the systematic erasure of Bengali Hindu identity.’