A Film to Remind Us Of the Black Hole?

Somewhere in England, someone is reportedly thinking of making a movie on the event known as the 'Black Hole of Calcutta' (BHC). For folks who have cancelled it out from their history books, BHC was a dungeon in the East India Company's Fort William in Calcutta, where the troops of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the nawab of Bengal, held British prisoners of war - civilians included - on the night of June 20, 1756. This was a full year before the nawab's forces would be defeated in the Battle of Palashi ('Plassey' for Britons) on June 23, 1757, marking the entry point for the East India Company that would, in turn, pave the way for British rule of India. The supposed film, thought to be inspired by the works of historian Niall Ferguson, apparently aims to 'highlight a horror of British Indian history overlooked by mainstream history' - the claustrophobic deaths of at least 43 out of 64 British prisoners.

The use of special effects in this film is being touted as one of the most powerful features not just of this movie but of all films in the historical genre. The BHC movie intends to make viewers realise the tragedy of 65 people being made to suffer in a 14x18 ft 'hole' by making the cramped conditions palpable in 3D. And, make it be known that there are many tragedies - centuries or decades old - that can 'go up in films'.