One September afternoon in 2013, Soumitra Chatterjee dropped in at Prosenjit’s Ballygunge home for something special — an adda exclusively for t2, where Prosenjit would be interviewing his “Soumitra kaku”. The occasion was Atanu Ghosh’s upcoming release Rupkatha Noy starring Soumitra, and as the filmmaker watched them chat, laugh and jog back to the time when Prosenjit was small enough to play on Soumitra’s lap, Atanu wondered why no one had ever made a film centred on them.
Mayurakshi, the result of that thought conceived almost four years ago, is ready to go on the floors this August, with Soumitra and Prosenjit starring as father and son.
“That afternoon as they chatted on, I remember being struck by the deep bond they shared. There was so much mutual respect and love, and I felt that one must think of something featuring these two significant figures from two generations,” Atanu, who has written the script of Mayurakshi, told t2. The film is an “intense journey” of father and son, and that is all he will let out at the moment.
“Soumitra kaku and Bumbada (Prosenjit) have shared screen space before but not as central characters, not like films which had two stalwarts like, say, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan in Shakti.... And now is the time for such a film because both of them are in an interesting curve in their acting careers. Soumitra kaku always approaches every film as new, he’s always eager to break the mould. And Bumbada has been steering himself towards more challenging work over the years. Amar mone hoy akta abhinoyer takkar hobe,” Atanu added.
For Prosenjit, Mayurakshi will be an extension of the relationship he shares with the veteran actor who is his father Biswajit’s contemporary. “I have always maintained that in the professional part of my life, Soumitra kaku is my father,” the Tolly star told t2. The one film with Soumitra that sticks out in his memory is Swapan Saha’s Guru Shishya “about 17-18 years ago” which also starred Rituparna Sengupta.
Mayurakshi already holds a special spot for Prosenjit because he’s sure “it is going to be one of those films that will stay. I am doing it for its archival value”. He, too, had been thinking of working with Soumitra in a film but only if the right script came their way. “After Atanu narrated the script of Mayurakshi to me, I took just five minutes to say yes. It’s a film about father-son bonding but each has his own journey too.... In the last few years, I have transformed as an actor and I felt I should do a sensible, cerebral film like this,” Prosenjit added.
Yet, it was not the right time to approach the veteran actor; talks matured days after his grandson was critically injured in a motorcycle accident. “But Soumitra kaku said he would listen to the script and then he said yes. It was a big learning for us all — how one can handle one’s professional life during such a family crisis,” said Prosenjt. For this and more, Soumitra kaku is a role model for him. “He’s still working at this age, and he puts everything into it…. This is my dream too. To be like him when I am his age. The other person who inspires me as much is Amitabh Bachchan. Simply unbeatable. Bhalo-kharap… he’s at it. That’s incredible.”
Mayurakshi will be Atanu’s sixth project with Soumitra; apart from two telefilms, he has directed the actor in three feature films — Angshumaner Chhobi, Rupkatha Noy and 72 Ghanta (yet to release). “But this will be my first film with Bumbada whom I had met through Rituda (Rituparno Ghosh). Bumbada’s door has always been open to me for adda and advice ever since,” said Atanu, whose last release was the Abir Chatterjee-Raima Sen-starrer Abby Sen.
Produced by Friends Communication, Mayurakshi will be shot largely in Calcutta, by Soumik Halder. “It’s our ninth film and a very special one for us too, with these two figures from two generations coming face to face,” said producer Firdausul Hasan of Friends Communication.
