Classic Bengali ghost stories often linger in memory long after the lights go out. With Kalratri, director Abhirup Ghosh attempts to bring that old-world terror back to the screen. Based on Manoj Sen’s cult horror novella, the film is set in a mist-covered rural Bengal of the 1950s, filled with folklore, mystery, and haunting atmospherics. Ghosh opens up about adapting the story, recreating its period setting, and capturing the essence of a quintessential Bengali ghost tale. A t2 chat with Abhirup Ghosh...
Kalratri is based on Manoj Sen’s novella. What drew you to this story and made you want to adapt it for the screen?
Kalratri is considered to be a cult classic in Bengali horror literature and is widely considered to be one of the best horror stories in Bengal. Its audio story version was a blockbuster success as well and the story enjoys immense fandom. I was drawn to the story primarily due to its atmospheric, rural setting and the period timeline. There is an old-school charm to the story that makes one remember the classic ghost stories we used to read in our school days or the ones our grandparents used to tell us. With this film, I am trying to invoke nostalgia and tell an old-fashioned classical horror story. The narrative style of the film is specifically designed to capture that old-world magic.
The film is set in a rural zamindar household in the 1950s. What kind of research went into recreating that period and atmosphere?
My art and production design team as well as the costume team have worked very hard to get the period right. This is the first time I have worked on a period piece, hence, I was highly paranoid about making mistakes. Apart from the rural set pieces, the film also focuses on some urban zones and has some aspects of the Second World War, which were very challenging to create. We cannot claim we have created the time period to perfection, but, we definitely have captured the essence of the 1950s and are sure to take audiences back in time for a rollercoaster ride.
Horror and mystery often rely heavily on mood. How did you approach building the tone of Kalratri?
We have tried to capture elements of Bengali culture and heritage and incorporate them into our horror set pieces. The story is largely set in a moody, depressing village surrounded on all sides by a mysterious forest. The locations at Bolpur and Siuri created a creepy, dark ambience, which was perfect for the film. The cultural elements like a haunted bashbon (bamboo forest), a ghorar ghari (horse-driven carriage) travelling through a deep forest, nishir daak (lure of a ghost), have ensured that this is a very Bangali ghost story. The familiar cultural elements will hopefully create a sense of comfort and ease, while atmospherics and thrills will send shivers down the audience’s spines. A foggy, mist-covered village, haunted by a mysterious and deadly entity, is a killer combination for horror.
Horror often works best when it leaves something to the imagination. How did you balance visual scares with the storytelling?
We have followed the less-is-more approach of the cult creature feature Jaws. We have kept our entity mysterious and largely in the shadows, focusing more on its terrifying impact on our characters than on its physicality. We have tried to give the entity a lot of buildup every time it appears, in order to ensure audiences get an edge-of-the-seat experience. We have balanced jump scares with atmospherics to ensure audiences are drawn into the world of the film. However, the storytelling is not subtle at all – it is as mainstream as it gets. Expect a potboiler.
How important were the locations in shaping the visual identity of the film?
The locations, aided by the production design by Sanjay Pal and the costumes by Aheri Mukherjee, really brought the story to life. The forest locations of Bolpur had a huge role to play in creating the atmospherics of the film. We shot the film deep in the forests in peak winter. The natural mists lend a supernatural, mysterious aura in the forest scenes, while the lush farmlands and rural landscapes allowed us to capture larger-than-life frames. The locations have helped us ensure that the lensing of the film delivers a true-blue big-screen experience.
The film features actors like Ritwick Chakraborty, Anirban Chakrabarti, Gourab Roy Chowdhury, Bibriti Chatterjee, Mir and Devlina Kumar. How did you go about casting them?
I have been waiting to cast Ritwickda in another interesting character since I did Mrigaya with him. Kalratri (produced by Partha Sarathi Majumder, Pallavi Prasad and Starmark Cinemas Entertainment) seemed like an exciting opportunity as he too had not done a period horror film like this before. This is another new interesting character in his cap and he is superb in the film as usual. Anirbanda has been my go-to guy for interesting characters and I have been working almost back-to-back with him in different projects. It’s always fun to cast him against his typical Eken Babu image and here too he has played an absolutely bonkers character which no one will expect him to play. He is the surprise element of the film.
Gourab has a royal and elegant look about him and I needed his calmness and poise for the zamindar character he plays. His performance is intense and he has played a very complex character really well. Bibriti is once again someone I have done quite some work with and has brought a certain freshness and charm to the otherwise dark film. She too is in a vibrant avatar that audiences have probably not seen her in before.
Devlina is a terrific actor with superb screen presence. I needed her quiet dominance for the zamindar queen character. Her perfect balance between motherly and mysterious has elevated the film’s intrigue quotient. Lastly, the film also features Mir in a very special role. He plays an eccentric scientist called Hijibiji and is a riot to watch on screen. I have been a fan of him since his Mirakkel days, and it was a pleasure creating such an interesting character together. Managing the dates of this ensemble was tough, but luckily, we got them all together.
What unique qualities did each of these actors bring to their characters?
Ritwickda brings his sardonic humour, sarcasm and a surprising swag to his Chitto. Anirbanda brings a certain madness and unpredictable surprise element to his Bosonto. Gourab made Chondro loveable and endearing with his honest performance. Devlina heightened the intensity and the drama with her multi-layered act. Bibriti brought softness and elegance that made the gloom of the film a bit less, creating much-needed breaks between the dread. Mir played to the galleries and gave a crowd-pleasing performance that will probably get ROFL reactions from the audience.
Tell us about their look.
Ritwickda sports a slightly steampunk-inspired look, which balances the period setting with urban textures like the red sunglasses. His rebel, no-nonsense attitude is reflected in the costumes. Anirbanda too gets steampunk-inspired glasses, combined with a rather poetic outfit, to match the stuck-between-two-worlds aspect of his character. Gourab is dressed regally to highlight the royal and just-returned-from-England aspects of his character. Devlina is dressed royally too as Sumitra, and her hair and makeup have highlighted her motherly, caring nature as well as the queen of the zamindari aspect.
The audience will get to see a very new side of Devlina in this film. Bibriti has been dressed in lighter shades to ensure her character spreads light and positivity. The restlessness of her character, Bhromor, is captured well through her look. Mir’s look is inspired partially by Albert Einstein. However, instead of making the look caricature-like, we opted for a realistic approach. He also sports a very interesting steampunk pair of glasses that adds to the period-meets-modern aesthetic of the film.
Arindam Chatterjee