She’s grinning from ear to ear — and with good reason. Koel Mallick’s latest film Sharthopor has stormed into cinemas to rave reviews and sky-high praise. Social media is buzzing, with fans and film buffs celebrating the movie’s socially relevant message and emotional punch. In Sharthopor (directed by Annapurna Basu), Koel plays Aparna, a middle-class homemaker, who is shocked to discover that her elder brother Saurav (Koushik Sen) has made her sign a no-objection certificate which states that she is giving up her right over her ancestral home. An argument between brother and sister unexpectedly escalates into a showdown in the courtroom.
“Yes, Aparna is married, but does that mean she must give up her parental home — the place where she was born, where she spent her entire childhood? Why?” asks Koel. A t2 chat with Koel...
Tell us about your character...
Aparna has sacrificed all her dreams. She is someone who does everything for the family. In return, she gets nothing. She doesn’t even expect anything. You’ll find a character like her in many households. Because of her mundane way of life, the character gets weighed down. When her self-respect gets challenged, she decides to fight back. I have always played very vocal characters with a strong spine. Aparna also has a strong spine but her expression is different.
Does the film expose faults in the system?
Yes. Many women are not aware of the details of the Property Act. Even if two people can introspect after watching this film, we will be happy. That is the magic of cinema. Through a film, you can kind of get into the households of so many people. You can make a change, or you can expect some bit of a change, which might affect society in a positive way.
The Act has been there for years, and many women just don’t know about it. In matters of inheritance, brothers and sisters generally have equal rights to their parents' property... and it is very surprising that many parents, when they sign off their property, feel that it’s just the right of the son... they feel that the daughter will just get married. But when the girl has to come back, when you don’t have another place to go.... then where will she go? She might be in a situation where she doesn’t have a house to go back to. The daughter has equal rights to property, and she will have something to fall back on.
The film explores how economic factors also determine decisions that would otherwise be governed by emotions...
Yes. The dimensions of emotions change and that’s the saddest part... it is about blood relations. This film gets into the nuances of the relationships, and it has been dealt with so beautifully, with so much honesty... and I would underline this word, honesty. The characters are so relatable. Often, we judge people on face value but we never try to understand that person’s pain. That’s why they tend to behave in a certain way. We don’t get to see that part. And it is so easy for people to pass judgments.
That’s what defines the title of the film...
It is a thin line. Somebody might call her selfish, but for that woman, it is about self-respect... to protect her self-respect, she has to act in a certain way, but for that, if you think that she is selfish, then whose problem is it? This film, undoubtedly, is the most important film of my career. In my 22 years as an actress, all the films that I have done are very special to me because of various reasons... but I am fortunate to be doing a film which has a very strong social message... of course, the film is entertaining as well.
A scene from the film
In the film, you share screenspace with your father Ranjit Mallick after 16 years...
It was an amazing experience. In the film, our characters are unfamiliar with each other initially... so there had to be a lot of unfamiliarity in our body language. He plays the advocate who is fighting for me. Baba plays a righteous man in the film... a man of principles, who would never lie. For that, he can even lose his cases. That was the most appealing facet of his character, GK Laha. He is also a whimsical man.
What are your memories of working with him?
At the early stages of my career, it felt daunting at times. Now, it is different! I have grown up a bit! On set, Baba is a strict disciplinarian. In my first film, there were one or two occasions where he disciplined me in front of everyone on set. And that too for something that wasn’t my fault. There was a scene in a coffee shop... my father got irritated because I was moving my legs a lot while acting... but that was because I was being bitten by bed bugs. And he did not know that. ‘Can you please save the scolding for the make-up room?’ I had to whisper in his ear.
Did he have words of praise for you for your performance in this film?
Yes, and it is so difficult to get words of praise from him! For Sharthopor, he joined during the last leg of the shoot. I would ask if everything was fine, and he always answered in the affirmative. Later, when he saw the film, he had great things to say about the film and my portrayal. In the film, my character is involved in a case for the first time. And my father, who plays her lawyer, asks her, ‘Would you be able to face the grilling in court?’ And she says, ‘You are there.’ In the answer, there was a lot of faith and trust.
How did the story of the film come to you?
Annapurna and scriptwriter Sadeep came to our office with story ideas. This script was amazing, nuanced and layered... so flawless, balanced and beautiful. Whenever there is a rift between two people in a film, there is a tendency to show one person in a bad light. For Sharthopor, it was different. The two principal characters are not wrong... both have so much to say. The story is really relevant.
Why did the story resonate with you?
The extremely important message of the film resonated with me. I found the relationship between the brother and sister so heartwarming. But when the reality of money and property hits, there is a paradigm shift into something else. Suddenly, there is a crack in the relationship. That was very intriguing. The film has the possibility to bring in change in society and make women aware of their rights.