Rani Mukherjee at an awards function

The sister had come all the way from Mumbai to start her career with Biyer Phool in Bengal. Now, the brother is following in her footsteps with his directorial debut, Bidhatar Khela. If Rani Mukherjee has made it right to the top in Bollywood, elder brother Raja will be making a start from the Dooars in end-August with a motley cast from Bolly and Tolly.

?I didn?t want to forget my roots. I had assisted my father Ram Mukherjee in a few Bengali films, and I was fascinated by the Bengali film industry. So, the decision to start with a Bengali film. I am planning a few more films in Bengali after which I will turn to Hindi,? says Raja, in the process of finalising his ?lead pair and the villain? from Mumbai. ?There are few heroes and heroines in Calcutta. I felt they don?t match my lead characters.?

Calcutta actors who have been roped in for the film are Roopa Ganguly, Arjun Chakraborty, Locket Chatterjee, Dulal Lahiri and Bodhisatwa Majumdar.

Whatever the name might suggest, Bidhatar Khela will be a romantic thriller to be shot in the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong during a straight 40-day schedule. The technical team will be from Mumbai.

Lalit of the Jatin-Lalit musical team ? now split wide open ? who had also scored the music for Biyer Phool, is composing the Bidhatar Khela soundtrack. ?The songs are an integral part of the film and we are trying to create a new kind of sound for Calcutta,? says Raja, who started production work with the Sahara TV serial Pratima, featuring his wife Jyoti in the lead. He has also directed several episodes and is now set to steer two more serials for Doordarshan.

With mother Krishna and wife Jyoti as producers, Bidhatar Khela is turning out to be a full-fledged family affair but maternal aunt Debasree Roy doesn?t figure in the cast list from Calcutta. ?Simply because she is busy with other projects and my film didn?t have any proper role for her? But I plan to do a film which will revolve around my mashi,? says Raja.

That apart, sister Rani is too busy with her own films to divert attention to the family fare. ?She has no time to breathe. But I do discuss my film with her because she is quite experienced now and she supports me a lot,? says the doting elder brother.