Ajogyo, directed by Kaushik Ganguly, marks the 50th film of the iconic bengali onscreen pair-Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta. Ganguly says that it is not just an honour but also a huge responsibility to direct the golden pair’s 50th film. We spoke with him about the film and more.
Excerpts:
What made you think about Ajogyo?
To think about such a film that stars the bengali film industry’s two biggest superstars was a long-drawn process, and I think the actors had trust in me too. When you talk about pairs like this, one thing goes without saying, such magical pairs never happen without audiences’ love and support. Prosenjit and Rituparna returned on screen after 14 years, and gave two super-hit films, Praktan and Drishtikone — it happened only because they could satisfy their audiences. Rituparna-Prosenjit are like Amitabh-Rekha or Uttam- Suchitra, and people probably never wish to see them get married — that distance between them makes their onscreen pair so wanted, creating films like Silsila.
The trailer for the film looks very relevant…
Time will tell its tale. I am neither making a biography nor remaking any text or film, I am telling a story that would surely speak of the current times. The way I would have written a story, I show it exactly on celluloid
In your recent films, Ajogyo, Ardhangini, or even Drishtikone, we see the lives of three people getting intertwined, which may or may not be love stories. Why is it so relevant?
Ajogyo answers all your queries. Stories can evolve in so many ways when there are three people involved in them — the dynamics change with every story. In music, there are only seven notes, and whatever songs you may produce, they will be around these only. relationship tales are also, to a great extent, like music.
How easy or difficult is it to work with Prosenjit and Rituparna?
It spoils you as a filmmaker because of the comfort that they give to a director, the attention and hard work that they put in, which make our units more lively. I must say this, especially about Prosenjit : if you work with him once, you will feel like working with him again and again. He is always on his toes, even if he’s not shooting that day.