Children’s fantasy adventure film Pokkhirajer Dim, which was released on June 13, has caught the attention of movie lovers with its unique story that blends science, emotion and magic. t2 caught up with its writer-director Soukarya Ghosal about his creative vision and process, his expectations from the film and much more.
Many are of the opinion that Pokkhirajer Dim is the spiritual sequel of your earlier children’s film Rainbow Jelly. How far is this true and what was the inspiration for this story?
I would prefer to say that it is the next chapter of Rainbow Jelly. In Pokkhirajer Dim we catch up with Ghoton and Poppins seven years after the incidents of the first film, where they get involved in a new adventure. Rainbow Jelly had a story that was based on fantasy, imagination and magic. Pokkhirajer Dim goes one step ahead of that and presents a science fantasy.
I was extremely overwhelmed by the response to Rainbow Jelly. It became very popular, and people would often ask me about Ghoton and Poppins’s next film. My wife Puja, who is also my creative director, urged me to make it a science-fiction-based story this time. As my growing-up years were deeply influenced by the works of Leela Majumdar, Satyajit Ray and Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, I tapped into that part of my childhood and came up with this story. I also had plans to make something for Ray’s centenary, which did not work out and had made me very unhappy. So, inspired by Ray’s alien fiction, I took this opportunity to write a story where an alien spaceship had landed in a village in Bengal.
What were the practical problems in making a film of this genre and how did you overcome them?
The major limitations are in terms of set designing and VFX, both arising due to budget constraints. Fortunately, I received excellent production support on both. Puja and I, who have nurtured this film for a long time, got together with our DoP Soumik Haldar and did three months of pre-production work so that we could precisely transcribe our vision onto the screen. In terms of special effects also, SVF offered me the best support possible, so that I did not have to worry about that either.
What was it like shooting in rural locations?
We had an outdoor shooting schedule at Simultala in September. There we encountered very humid weather typical of that season. The next schedule in November was quite pleasant.
Was it an advantage that you had worked earlier with child actors Mahabrata and Anumegha?
Ghoton, who Mahabrata portrays, is a marginal-IQ character. Because Mahabrata had septicaemia as a baby, in real life too, he has a few speech and memory problems, which we addressed through extensive workshops while making Rainbow Jelly. This time too, we did a rigorous workshop for four months, three days a week, for six to eight hours a day. Sometimes adult actors like Anirban Bhattacharya or Kaushik Chatterjee took part in them as well. I always do these workshops because I usually work with kids a lot and such workshops make the actual shooting process easier and smoother to execute. Workshops help to save a lot of time and money also, because with the acting details locked beforehand, we can concentrate on the technical aspects on the shooting floor.
How was your experience of working with Anirban Bhattacharya for the first time?
Anirban has played a huge assortment of roles already and I was sure that he would be able to do justice to the character of Batabyal Sir. And though he had done a wide variety of roles, he had never done anything for children. Also, I was convinced that the character I was offering him was interesting and unique enough to excite him as an actor. His humour and sense of timing being very strong, I thought it would be fun to watch how he would shape his character for a children’s film.
As I am from a drawing and illustration background, I had made a detailed visual study of Batabyal Sir and had shown it to him. That got him interested initially. Then I read out the script to him and later we brainstormed through many sessions to carve out the character completely, which was far better than the one I had originally conceived.
You are always involved in the process of creating music for your films. How did you match the music of Pokkhirajer Dim to its tone and content?
I generally write lyrics for the songs in my films and for the first time I have also set tune to a song as well. I believe that if a film is the entire body then its background music is like its nervous system. I share a very good understanding with my music director Nabarun Bose with whom I have worked ever since my first film. We have grown up with the same influences in music, literature and films. He is an expert at composing music scores and songs. I believe that the music he hears on seeing my visual scape matches very closely to what I am looking for.
Why do you think children’s films in Bengali are made so rarely?
I think there is nothing called a children’s film. Either it is a film for adults or it is for a universal audience. I am sure adults equally enjoy the so-called children’s movies, for instance, the Feluda films or even Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. Usually, we call those films children’s films where kids have an important role to play. In my case, kids have played an important role in the trajectory of each of the seven films I have made so far. Bhootpori (2024) had an important child character, so did Rawkto Rawhoshyo (2020). Load Shedding (2015) was about three teenagers. My first film Pendulum (2014) also centred around a child character. I have always done this instinctively because I feel cinema offers a slice of life and an experience of life. As men, women and trans people are very much a part of it, so are children. And if films are meant to be larger than life, kids should have an important role to play in them as well.
What are your expectations from Pokkhirajer Dim?
The pre-release responses were excellent, and I did not receive a single negative feedback. I feel that this is because the characters of Ghoton and Poppins have already created a space for themselves in the audience’s hearts. I hope the film will be well-received by the people. Usually, after a film has been completed, I watch it a few times and cancel out parts which I feel do not need to be in the film. I have watched Pokkhirajer Dim also a number of times after finishing it, but could not give negative marks to myself for a single scene. I feel it is very vibrant and sparkling.