He has left a cushy job to pursue his dreams and he is adamant about creating narratives, the way he wants them to be. No amount of hardships is enough to derail his mission. That's filmmaker Indrasis Acharya for you. The persevering director, who made an impressive debut with Bilu Rakkhosh followed by Pupa, and The Parcel, had an unexpected turnout at the box office for his under-publicised movie, Niharika. Set in the 80s, the atmospheric film explores the depths of the human psyche through a lucid and pensive love story, albeit in the backdrop of open nature that takes us back to the good old days in this age of rapid communication revolution.
Indrasis just finished filming his sixth feature, Gajoner Dhulobali -- a political thriller that will see actress Rituparna Sengupta follow the tracks of her missing husband in the deep interiors of rural Bengal and unveil bigger plots in the process. The film, slated for a 2024 release, also stars such prolific actors as Ritwick Chakraborty and Lokenath among others, and we chat with Indrasis about the same and more.
How do you feel about the warm response the box office reception that a niche film like Niharika received?
We didn't expect such a long run in theatres but always believed in the film. The footfall to a great extent depends on the number of audiences you reach during promotions of the film and though that was pretty low, word-of-mouth from viewers steadily made the audience aware of the quality of the film. We are really happy and looking forward to its premiere on television and OTT.
Your thoughts on the difficulty indie filmmakers face in getting screens?
The problem is to retain the film after the first week. Films backed by strong producers and distributors get multiple shows at theatres but we get only one and that is the biggest issue. Pulling the audience with proper promotion is a hard task for us due to the lack of funds and that's why we depend on festivals. Niharika too had a fabulous festival run. And the local film Industry hardly cares about our films. Everyone says it's a level playing field, but if I want to release my film during the Pujas or Christmas, is it possible? The answer is no because indie filmmakers don't have that kind of power or money. Despite that, I have made six features so far and that is an indie filmmaker's achievement.
You just finished filming Gajoner Dhulobali. Share the idea behind the film?
The recent incidents in different villages and hinterlands around the country helped me conceive this idea. Extreme love and hatred and judgements of them have become a natural phenomenon. Social media has further aggravated the situation and with corruption all around, there are hardly any good deeds getting recognised unconditionally. Gajoner Dhulobali or Dust and Pebbles is based on the above premises.
How did you mount the movie?
Gajoner Dhulobali aka Dust and Pebbles is 180 degrees opposite to my other films in terms of pace, characters, dialogues, and crafting. The film is itself a challenge to what I am capable of. So, I was a little scared but my team is extremely professional and diligent and we have been able to pull it off due to a great team effort.
We started the shoot during harsh summer months in a remote village but no one complained rather delivered their best to make unique.
How did you decide upon the cast of the film?
Many local villagers attached to Azimganj theatre team have played the on-screen villagers. Ritwick Chakraborty has done a wonderful job along with Loknath Dey, Deboprasad Haldar, Deepak Haldar, Apurba Bar, Uma Banerjee, and Subhankar Mohanto, all of whom worked on their looks and physique as per the requirement. Rituparna Sengupta and Shreya play urban characters and performed perfectly.
How was the experience of working with Rituparna for the second time?
Third time to be precise. In between we have made Good Bye Mountain in Kerala. She is very production-friendly and never complains about anything while shooting. She never gets tired or irritated even during multiple retakes or delays between shots.
What kind of cinema do you plan to make in 2024?
I do not see an encouraging environment for filmmakers here, so, I do not have much hope of getting opportunities to make movies in my own language. Everywhere there are groups or syndicates where everything takes place and very little happens outside of that. Despite that, a couple of makers are making excellent films that normally don't cater to mass audiences. My objective is to maintain the distinct language of cinema while providing the audience with a sense of cinema that's profound and has no language barrier.