A renowned history professor from Oxford comes to Calcutta for a short visit and decides to visit his nephew’s ancestral maternal home. Guptodhoner Sondhane, directed by Dhrubo Banerjee and presented by Arindam Sil, packs in adventure, history and tradition. On top of it, the April 27 film has Abir Chatterjee leading from the front as Sonada, the professor. A t2 chat...
Let’s start with your screen name first. Does Sonada have any connection with Feluda?
No!
But aren’t they similar sounding names (Feluda, Sonada), with the ‘da’ after the end of the name?
Thank you for asking this question!
This ‘da’ is a very Bengali concept. Dada and ‘da’ are not the same, and there are a lot of variations to it. We address our seniors as ‘da’. It comes out of respect. He is someone who you look up to... he is very friendly. When people ask me if I feel awkward when new heroines call me Abirda, or girls who want to take pictures with me call me Abirda, I tell them that they don’t mean Dada actually. It’s a completely different category (laughs). This ‘da’ is someone who is a bit senior, whom one can adore, whom one can look up to (grins)!
Like you would have all these ‘da’s in every para, or in a joint family, who would be hero-worshiped. He would be excellent in studies, play great cricket, sing well, and be at the forefront when organising para pujas. Parents would ask their kids to emulate him. So the kids would get slightly angry… but it would be difficult to hold on to that anger since he would help you out in studies.
Sonada has this very Bangali thing about him. The film starts with Sonada, a professor of history, coming back to Calcutta from London. The name comes from ‘sonar tukro chhele’. He is very jovial, popular with his students. One can relate to him.
How would you describe Sonada?
He is very bhodro, cool and calm, well-behaved, amiable, humble. If someone is paying him too many compliments, he’ll probably feel shy. He teases Arjun’s character but is also very protective of him.
Was Sonada written keeping you in mind?
(Laughs out loud) No, but, of course, I can relate to him. Unlike Feluda, Sonada’s life is not without women. He is not like Feluda, in that sense!
So does Sonada have a love interest?
For that you have to watch the film. Then again, Sonada is not like Byomkesh, who takes time out for love even while conducting his investigations. Sonada is not a great lover like Byomkesh. He falls somewhere in between.
Since the film is about a treasure hunt, and you are involved, are you also playing detective and solving things?
I am not a detective here, but we are solving things… one riddle leads to another. That’s all I can say for now. Sonada is intrigued by a 350-year-old house.
What was it about the story that hooked you?
It is a very feel-good and positive film. The film has a deep-rooted feel of Bangaliana, there’s a sense of adventure and fun. There is some great wordplay too. A lot of research has gone into it, but nowhere is it in your face.
The story is told simply with a lot of humour. It has a nice flow that appealed to me. And you’ll get to see a lot of food in it — from kochi pathar jhol to lyangcha to payesh. I have told Dhrubo to tell the audience to make dinner plans after watching the film! They’ll feel really hungry. And there is a riddle hidden in the food too.
Were you adventurous as a child?
We would find old houses really intriguing… we would think that there might be some treasure buried somewhere. We would go for picnic trips to Diamond Harbour and I would be intrigued by the small fort there. As a kid I would read books like Chander Pahar, Jokher Dhon, and get really excited. There was no Internet or YouTube, so we would create our own imaginary worlds.
Since we’ll get to see only one Byomkesh film in a year, was this film made to satiate the cravings of thrill-seeking fans?
This is not based on any novel. The main characters have been created for this film only. We can make a graphic novel out of it. So it’ll be the other way round — from cinema we’ll go back to literature. And if the film does well, then it can be turned into a franchise.
Why is Arjun Chakrabarty called Abir (he is Sonada’s nephew)? Did you ask the makers that?
No, I didn’t ask them, but for the first one or two days we were confused about who was being referred to as Abir!
How is Dhrubo Banerjee as a director?
He is very sorted, cool-headed, has a fresh way of looking at things. He is well-read. And in his first film Dhrubo has directed three directors — Goutam Ghose, Arindam Sil and Kamaleswar Mukherjee. He was never unnerved.
How were Arjun and Ishaa Saha to work with?
Arjun plays the most lovable character in the film. Arjun’s Abir is smart and handsome. Khawa-dawa is his hobby and his passion is travelling. And there are moments when you’ll go ROFL.
This is Ishaa’s second film but you won’t feel that. She has performed really well. And we all pulled her leg during the shoot. It worked as an ice-breaker. Ishaa plays a smart, confident woman, who is close to Abir (Arjun).
How did the shooting go?
It was a young and very energetic crew. It was really cold when we were shooting in Bolpur in January. We would start around 4.30am-5am. We had to dive into ice-cold winter in winter.
Do you like solving puzzles?
I have an interest in solving puzzles, but I don’t get the time now. While preparing for my MBA, I used sit for these logical reasoning tests, so that habit is still there.
Five things director Dhrubo got to know about actor Abir during the shoot
♦ Just as Sonada is the go-to person for any solution, Abir on set was the Dada to both Arjun and Ishaa. He is extremely helpful. He is an amazingly cooperative co-star.
♦ He is one of the most fun-loving actors on set. With Abir around you can expect pranks all the time. No dull moments when he is there.
♦ He is a bundle of positive energy. I’ve never seen him get tired or grumble.
♦ Abir is always ready to go the extra mile for the script and the character... he is any director’s dream.
♦ He has zero star tantrums. Rather he makes everyone feel comfortable on the sets.
