Rituparna and Sohini in Alik Sukh

Alik Sukh (directed by Shiboprosad and Nandita Roy) has completed 25 days at the theatres. Is the box-office showing better than Muktodhara?

No, it’s almost equal. Muktodhara’s budget was higher than Alik Sukh’s. Actually our films never get an initial because we don’t make hero/heroine-oriented films. We depend a lot on word-of-mouth publicity and our films pick up in the second or third week. Alik Sukh’s budget is a little over a crore and it has already collected Rs 1 crore, while Muktodhara was made on a budget of Rs 2 crore.

As a director, what flaws do you now notice in Alik Sukh?

I am very happy with the performances. But there are a few technical glitches which I thought could have been avoided.

A particular scene you thought could have been done differently?

No, a film is a director’s baby and as a father whatever I could provide for, I have provided. Alik Sukh is a very challenging subject to deal with. It’s a chamber drama and it’s very verbose. Alik Sukh threw at us the same challenges that we faced while shooting Ichche, which too was an indoor drama. You know, such subjects are the most difficult to deal with. Two people sitting in their bedroom and talking, you need guts to hold the audience’s attention.

While Rituparna Sengupta’s Rambhani was very flesh and blood, Debshankar Halder’s Kinshuk was very loud...

See, that was the idea. In the film, Kinshuk is the one who is guilty and that’s why he shouts the loudest because anybody who’s guilty has the tendency to prove his point. Rambhani is quiet, calm and accepts everything but because she remains silent with an expression of disbelief, her husband becomes louder and louder. That Kinshuk would be loud was a deliberate decision. Many had told us that Sohini (Sengupta) was very loud in Ichche. But Sohini was very real. That’s how real mothers talk. We are used to the nyakami on screen. My characters steer clear of nyakami. We make realistic films.

Don’t you think you’ve underused Sohini in Alik Sukh? She constantly appears and disappears...

Well, she plays Rambhani’s conscience, her alter ego. Kabita (Sohini) is a figment of Rambhani’s imagination and so she appears and disappears. How can a person who exists in somebody’s dream be present all the time?

Don’t you think Sohini’s make-up was a bit too ghostly for a patient?

No. I had seen a patient lying in bed once. That image stayed with me. I tried to give Sohini that look. The dark circles, curled hair left open, black lips are because she died in the OT. Rambhani had peeped through the door only once and had seen her lying still in the bed. I don’t think any other look would have worked for Kabita.

Rituparna looked very good without make-up. How did you convince her?

I think Ritu looks best when she is not wearing any make-up. She does look good with make-up, when she ties her hair into a bun and wears a sari. It wasn’t very difficult to convince her!

What’s next for you and Nandita (Roy, co-director)?

We are planning a film for kids based on a story by Suchitra Bhattacharya.