Saron Datta

Saron Datta is ready with his version of Ajit Gangopadhyay’s play Thana Theke Aschhi, more famously known as a thriller starring Uttam Kumar and Madhabi Mukherjee. Produced by Morpheus Media Ventures, Thana Theke Aschhi releases this Friday.

A t2 chat with Saron...

In what ways is your film different from Hiren Nag’s Thana Theke Aschhi?

My film is inspired by JB Priestley’s play Inspector Calling. Ajit Gangopadhyay had written the play, Thana Theke Aschhi, based on Inspector Calling. Hiren Nag’s film (starring Uttam and Madhabi) too was based on that play. Besides, that film was made 40 years ago and my interpretation is different from Hiren Nag’s.

The plot is the same, but the background of the characters and their dynamics have changed in my film. Also, a diary plays a very important role here. There is just a mention of the diary in the play, but in my films it’s a character. I have also changed the name of the characters, except for Tinkari Halder (the investigator played by Uttam Kumar). Sabyasachi Chakraborty plays the role here.

What is your film about?

My film raises a few questions about society. Paoli plays an ordinary girl with no ambition, and yet she finds it difficult to survive. All the other characters exploit her and how it puts her under pressure to commit suicide is what the film is about. That’s why my film isn’t just a thriller. It’s got other elements too — social and political. It’s about the fact that we don’t practise what we preach.

Why did you choose Paoli as the protagonist?

I wanted a competent actress who would be very expressive because this character doesn’t have any dialogue in the film, except in a few scenes where she reads the diary and those are actually her thoughts. It’s only when she reads the diary does the audience get a glimpse of what she is like. I had acted with Paoli in (Goutam Ghose’s) Kalbela and I realised that she is very good. She can emote through her eyes and that’s the whole point of casting her. There’s also a love angle, which develops between Paoli and Parambrata’s characters. The film revolves around that but ends on a sad note.

Rudranil and Paoli in Thana Theke Aschhi

Why cast Sabyasachi in the role played by Uttam Kumar?

I wanted someone with a towering personality and a baritone for that role. While Uttam Kumar played it in the film, Ajitesh Bandopadhyay played it on stage. All of them are powerful actors. The character isn’t just another sub-inspector inquiring about a suicide. He almost takes it to the level of mental torture for the other characters, played by Dulal Lahiri, Aloknanda Roy, Shrabanti Banerjee and Rudranil Ghosh.

What kind of an audience do you have in mind?

The educated urban middle class. I am doubtful about the film running in the interiors, but the angle of an ordinary woman being exploited might click with the audience there.