Soumya Roy Choudhury talks about his first feature film, Ghun Gaon
After a few web series and short films, director Soumya Roy Choudhury brings his first feature, a dark thriller called Ghun Gaon. Set in a mysterious village where secrets, betrayal, and revenge start unfolding, this psychological thriller promises to keep the audience hooked. We sat down with Soumya at Savoy Rooftop Café for a candid chat.
What made you take the jump to your first feature?
I have not taken such a big visual jump before. Moreover, making a web series is commercial, and short films find an audience in film festivals. But with this feature film, my main focus is to give the audience entertainment within a kind of thriller genre, which is not normally there in Bengali films.
Do you think pursuing a dark thriller for your first feature was a risk?
It’s a dark thriller with a female-centric narrative. I am creating a universe. Ghun Gaon is just chapter 1 and there are two more chapters in line. It has a classic Hollywood narrative. In fact, the film is for the adults, and I will not make any cuts to get a U/A certificate. So, with these, yes, I am taking a risk on my first feature.
How would you define this sub-genre?
Dark thriller is a kind of thriller where we will go to a very uncomfortable universe. Psycho is a dark thriller. It is not for everyone. But when we are talking about adventure thrillers like Indiana Jones, it can be watched by anyone. My film will deal with some subjects or may have scenes that may be uncomfortable for people. Ghun Gaon deals with darkness. That darkness can be within us, within the society, through dark characters, or even a dark animal.
How did you lock in Anindita and Ranojoy as the leads?
I went to Anindita (Bose) with the script in 2020, but it didn’t happen for the next five years. Then I reconnected and told her that if she was still interested, the project had now become a film rather than a web series. She immediately agreed to come on board. For Ranojoy (Bishnu), I had seen Rash and liked his character. I really like his screen presence. And he too agreed.
Tell us about your collaboration with Sunidhi Chauhan.
The credit goes to my music director Tunai Debasish Ganguly. When we added an item song, he said “this is Sunidhi’s song”. So he contacted her, and we sent a scratch and within three days, she was in. The song is called Tun Tun Tunak Tun and is performed by Sritama Dey but has the screen presence of all the lead cast.
Ghun Gaon releases on September 11
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