Devtanu explores the impact of social media in futuristic fantasy TikiLand
A thespian at heart, Devtanu could not really connect to his high-end corporate job. Two years back, he took a sharp turn in his career to take up the acting journey he had left mid-way. After juggling between scriptwriting and acting for two years, he believes his struggle is finally seeing light as TikiLand is due for release tomorrow.
“I wrote TikiLand and I have been in talks with the film’s director Abhishek for quite some time. It was initially conceptualised as a short film, which later on took shape into a full-fledged feature. We faced quite a few challenges as producers and actors were not ready to work with fresh faces. The end product is a joint effort of a top-to-toe young crew. 8 individuals will be debuting with this project,” shares Devtanu.
He has previously written several TVCs and a HoiChoi short film titled Dugga, as well as featured in supporting roles of Saswata Chatterjee starrer Bonkubabu and Zee5’s Krishanu Krishanu. Tikiland will be Devtanu’s first as a lead.
“I believe every adult is young at heart and I have always wanted to work in films that nurture this sentiment. I wish to work in commercial projects targeted at the mass audience but cannot be thoroughly money-minded. I seek to be involved in the making process from inception. I believe in collaborative energy,” adds the writer-actor.
Tikiland is a futuristic fantasy set in the year 2030 and explores the good and bad effects of social media through a unique approach. Drawing parallels with the COVID-19 contagion, Devtanu speaks of a virus FOMO- Fear of missing out that is wreaking havoc amongst youngsters in Tikiland. “What I am conveying through the film are facts and not a black and white hypothesis. Even producers look for actors with a huge number of followers on their social media handles, but that is not how things should work. One must create value through their work and not by their social media statistics,” Devtanu points out.
Deluxe Mamoni, a VFX song from the film was recently released over YouTube. It has garnered 1.3 lakh views within two days.
The spirited youth believes a film truly has no language in today’s world as the barriers can be crossed easily especially due to OTT platforms. It is more important to focus on the content. “I have no particular fascination with Hindi films. On the contrary, I want to make and represent good Bengali content nationally, and internationally in due course of time,” concludes Devtanu.
On the acting front, the artist has multiple projects down his pipeline. The month of March will see him in two upcoming releases- Aparajita and Katakuti. Devtanu will also be seen in a pivotal role in Dr. Bakshi.
Tikiland is due for release tomorrow on Mojoplex.