It's not every day that you get to see thoughtfully-made films that are unimposing and relevant, leaving you with some very good food for thought. Indranil Roychowdhury is one such underrated filmmaker who has steadily given us a few very thought-provoking films over the years including Phoring, Ekti Bangali Bhooter Goppo, Bhalobashar Shohor and The Lovely Mrs Mukherjee.
And now, this FTII Pune alumnus has come up with Mayar Jonjal, a movie that takes a leaf from Manik Bandyopadhyay's Bishakto Prem and Subala. This Indo-Bangladesh joint production that will release simultaneously here and in Bangladesh, on February 24, will see some stunning performances by actors from both sides of Bengal including Ritwick Chakraborty, Chandreyee Ghose, Bratya Basu, Aupee Karim and Shohel Mondol among others.
We talk to Ritwick and Indranil about the same ahead of the film's release.
Tell us about Mayar Jonjal a little.
Indranil: Mayar Jonjal is again a film that's open to interpretation but the main theme is woven around such people who are pushed to a corner while struggling for existence and while trying to survive, everything crumbles around them including relationships and love thereby creating a landscape of waste. They hurt each other unknowingly despite meaning well and are stuck with each other despite not wanting to. It's a very suffocating situation where you hate someone despite loving them and vice versa but unfortunately there's no escape. I took a leaf from author Manik Bandyopadhyay's Bishakto Prem and a little reference from Subala. But the time and context have both changed. It's a foolish attempt to try and tell a new story, the challenge lies in finding new connections with the stories.
Ritwick, how did you prepare for the character?
Ritwick: I play Chandan Santra or Chandu, who works in a plastic factory near Teghoria and after losing his job becomes a security guard at an ATM branch. He has a son and a wife and when his wife starts working to make up for his dwindling income a bigger crisis arises in Chandu's life. He simply couldn't process the fact that his wife has to spend nights at a different home which is within a gated community where he has no access to her.
Your movies always have an underlining take on the patriarchy.
Indranil: Male toxicity and patriarchy are palpable and everywhere cutting across all classes. It's so instilled in our society that whenever there is a crisis it sticks out its head.
How satisfying is it to work with someone like Indranil?
Ritwick: Indranil is very caring about his film's characters and he gives them a lot of time and sits with actors to etch them out through several discussions. I always have many such individual and team reading sessions with Indranil before each of his films and we also discuss how the character should look like. That I could bring out that broken man in Chandu's demeanour for the film has left me very satisfied.
Do you think Bangladesh is leaving us behind when it comes to making quality films?
Indranil: Definitely Bangaldesh is way ahead of us now and one of the primary reasons is that they have Bengali producers who are intricately related to the history and culture of Bengal and are hopeful of its future. But that doesn't mean a non-Bengali producer can't produce a fine Bengali film, all I mean is that the Bengali language needs to take the centre stage and there should be respect for such a rich language and culture that I am working with.
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Your upcoming projects?
Indranil: I am completing a police crime thriller web series Chhotolok. It's a 9-episode original project for ZEE5 that tells the story of very ordinary people who go about investigating crimes in a regular manner.
Ritwick: I just completed filming for four series -- Gora and Mr Koliketa for Hoichoi and Gangtok e Gondogol and Abar Proloy for ZEE5.
Mayar Jonjal is in theatres now.