No, Shyam Singha Roy is not based on a true story or real-life personality. Shyam Singha Roy is a 2021 India Telugu-language period romantic drama film, directed by Rahul Sankrityan. Produced by Niharika Entertainment, the movie stars Nani in a dual role, with Sai Pallavi and Krithi Shetty playing the female leads, alongside Madonna Sebastian and Rahul Ravindran in supporting roles.
Shyam Singha Roy is a pure fiction but takes creative inspiration from Bengal’s history of literature and social reforms. The story is set partly in the 1970s Kolkata and partly in the modern era. It explores the themes of reincarnation, social reforms and devadasi system.
Plot Summary
The story begins in modern-day Hyderabad. Vasudev is an aspiring filmmaker struggling to make it big. An incident during a shoot leaves Vasudev with a head injury, triggering a psychological condition which causes blackouts and personality shifts. However, Vasu succeeds professionally when his film becomes a massive hit. His joy is short-lived when he is accused of plagiarising the works of Shyam Singha Roy, a Bengali writer who lives 50 years ago.
Vasu is arrested. To prove his innocence, he undergoes hypnosis, which reveals that he is the reincarnation of Shyam Singha Roy. The movie moves to 1970s Bengal. Shyam Singha Roy is a communist writer and a social reformer. He leaves home and meets a talented devdasi dancer, Maitreyi. They fall in love and he names her Rosie. Shyam helps Rosie in escaping the devdasi system.
The couple moves to Calcutta. Shyam Singha Roy builds a life with Rosie, while becoming a successful albeit controversial writer. He also establishes a trust to rehabilitate devdasis and fight social injustices. Roy makes enemies who eventually kill him, leaving Rosie devastated.
Back in the present, Vasu’s hypnosis evidence is dismissed by the court. However, Shyam’s elder brother produces an unpublished manuscript proving that Vasu’s stories originated from Shyam’s life. Finally, the case is withdrawn and Vasu is acquitted.
Real Life Inspirations
There was never any historical character by the name of Shyam Singha Roy. That said, the character of Shyam Singha Roy draws inspiration from real-life social reformers and literary figures like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Rabindranath Tagore. Moreover, the story draws from the revolutionary spirit which existed in Bengal in the 19th and 20th century.
The film has invited criticism of Hinduphobia from certain quarters. As per the critics, the movie falsely portrays the Devadasi system and creates hatred against the Brahmins. The alleged reference to Rig Veda in a derogatory manner has also been a point of criticism against the movie.