“India needs a new fantasy fiction franchise,” producer-turned director Sam Bhattacharjee remarks on the sidelines of the release of his directorial debut project Barun Rai and The House on the Cliff, in India. It is this proposition that led to the film that intends to birth a brand new fictional character that can command fan following like other major characters in India or in the West.
“I grew up with literary characters like Feluda and Byomkesh and giant franchise like Marvel inspires me heavily. So, my main intention with this film was to work on a sharp character like Barun Rai who can be taken to the next level,” offers Sam who is planning to have many sequels to the film. “Barun Rai S1 is the beta version of introducing the character. We would like to explore more of him and we are continuously researching to make the character stronger. The reaction from the viewers is a learning curve and we will now work to make the forthcoming episodes better,” adds Sam informing that the working title of the film was Corvid's Head.
Set in 1978 in New York, the crime thriller with a paranormal element follows the story of a newly-wed couple Soumili and Harmesh Banerjee who have just moved into their dream home. However, their love is tested by unexplained incidents. Enter Barun Rai, a parapsychologist, essayed by actor Priyanshu Chatterjee who uses his ace expertise to solve the unusual case. The other Indian actors headlining the film are Nyra Banerjee and Sid Makar. It also stars British actors like George Dawson, Tony Richardson and Emma Galliano.
The London-based director who migrated to the UK around two decades back wants to keep making films rooted deep in India. Currently, he is working on a genre-bending technological thriller.
The film was released in the UK last year on Halloween and is now available for the Indian audience on Eros Now.