Solanki Roy and Rohaan Bhattacharjee share their experience of shooting ‘Bishohori’

Rohaan: Multiple elements make Bishohori stand out. Firstly, Srijit Roy’s exceptional directorial patterns and secondly the series is a grand production showcasing a unique story centered around Solanki’s extraordinary performance and third, the narrative is very new and fresh.

Solanki: I think the story itself stands out. We all love watching murder mysteries but the way Bishohori is a seamless combination of murder mystery, mythological elements as well as family drama makes it stand out even more compared to other series. The best part of the script is that it lacks unnecessary exaggeration and includes the right amount of every element.

Solanki: The entire suspense of the story is concealed behind a specific forbidden room and the series tells a tale that has persisted for years revolving around the very mansion that houses this enigmatic space. The historical walls of the mansion itself are a character and therefore play a pivotal role throughout the series.

Rohaan: The ancestral mansion is almost a character itself. Just as each person has a vibe of their own, so does this mansion. The vibe of the space has transformed according to the script, smoothly transitioning its eerie aura into a serene charm. From sending shivers down the spine to comforting the audience, the series has captured all shades of the mansion’s essence.

Rohaan: Yes, I have. I’m pretty sure the ancestral mansion where we shot Bishohori is haunted.

If you check my socials, you’ll notice that I travel to the mountains a lot, I visit North Bengal many times a year. I mainly prefer Kurseong because it’s not a very popular tourist spot, so I feel like a local there. The village is already widely recognised as a haunted place. I usually stay in a duplex heritage house called Albion. I choose the ground floor room for myself as the upper floor is mostly taken up by my friends. I went there twice with two different friends of mine and both of them said that they came across something eerie but I have never personally faced such a situation.

Solanki: Not only have I shot in haunted spaces like Morgan House, I have visited them for vacations as well. In recent times whenever we visited Darjeeling, we stayed at a hotel called Pineridge, if you search for haunted hotels in North Bengal the name of this hotel appears right at the top. Not many people choose this spot for their stay so usually it's just us, and that makes me feel safe. However, it’s a very beautiful place built during the British era. The hotel is like a maze so one can easily lose their way and it consists of a piano which some claim to have heard playing on its own, though I have never experienced anything like that myself.

And I'll also share this experience, my friends and I were visiting and we were returning to the hotel. All of us just froze in front of the hotel entrance. We saw that the all the tubelights on the mall road were perfectly functioning , only the one in front of the hotel was continuously flickering. you know it could have well been a movie shot or something and we captured it on our phones.

Rohaan: I usually prefer to explore different types of roles every time I opt for one. You may have noticed that each and every work of mine differs from the other, even when I’m anchoring, I try to bring a unique touch to it. When Srijit Da asked me to do the series, he told me that my character is like Topshe to Feluda which is Solanki’s character. While it is my first time in such a different look, I have tried my best to bring a dynamic aspect to the character.

Solanki: In my case not only is my character different look wise, but it is the very first time I’m playing a role in which I solve mysteries. Back in my childhood days when I used to read Satyajit Ray and Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, I often dreamt of being a detective. However, I would feel discouraged, realising that there were very few female detectives. But in this series the character Rajnandini is kind of treated the same way, as she isn’t a professional investigator yet she is so intuitive and inquisitive that she starts to question things, even though she does not have any intentions to solve any mystery. This curiosity brings her to the end of all the suspense and mysteries that she, herself wasn’t prepared for. So, the character is definitely different from all my other works.

Solanki: I think the beauty of the series lies in the constant emphasis on Bengali Culture that is parallelly depicted alongside the storytelling. According to my interpretation, the writer has paid a tribute to the dying art forms of our culture. Nowadays, we are globalised to a huge extent, and hence the series has made sure that the intrinsic Bengal art forms like jatra pala and bohurupi as well as the mythological stories like Behula Lokkhindor don’t fade away and Bengal doesn’t forget its roots.

The series has simultaneously explored the individual differences and emotional depths of interpersonal relationships within a family that might give rise to complications but are never harmful. The series is not just about the relationship of a new-age couple—Tatha and Rajnandini, but also about how mystery is woven with multiple emotions like greed, jealousy, satisfaction and dissatisfaction into one story. The trailer is just the tip of the iceberg that showcases a small segment of the vast and dynamic layers of the series. Also, none of the elements feel forced in the series.

Rohaan: It is a very fulfilling series with a satisfying ending.

Solanki: I think Rohaan is a wonderful human being and even if he looks like a very composed and soft-spoken person, I’ve seen him take a strong stand whenever he feels that something is wrong which is very admirable in a person.

Rohaan: I deeply believe in the concept of energy and whenever I’m around Solanki she radiates positivity, which is why I try to sit next to her at events. I feel this positive energy that she creates around herself is the reason why she has been able to come so far.

Solanki: I think the best ornament that you can wear is your smile, if you are smiling and your eyes are lit then your outfit won't matter at all. Since date night is a special night, I would personally prefer wearing something that I’m comfortable as well as confident in. If you stand in front of the mirror and feel pretty, it will automatically impact the way you smile and talk the entire day. Don’t overdo anything, wear whatever you feel like and smile brightly. I think Bengali girls should go for sari any day but never let your outfit overpower you.

Rohaan: I think the location of the date matters to me a lot as I prefer dressing according to the destination. But if I go into details, I think I’ll go for a white shirt tucked into a pair of navy-blue trousers, as I like looking a bit classy.

Solanki: I’m currently in discussions about a few projects.

Rohaan: I have already completed some of the work, including a Hindi film and a Bengali film called Brahmarjun, which are set to release soon. In the hindi film, Neeraj Kabi plays the role of my father and Divya Dutta, is my mother. Neeraj Kabi’s tips helped me a lot throughout the film and what added to the extra-ordinary experience was that we spent 27 days in Kashmir shooting for the movie which was like a dream project.

Bishohori is streaming on Hoichoi

(Written by Addrita Sinha)