Kiriti O Kalo Bhromor (directed by Anindya Bikas Datta and produced by Rupa Datta, Camellia Productions) pits its two protagonists — Kiriti (Indraneil Sengupta) and Kalo Bhromor (Koushik Sen) — against one another, and the battle of wits between them sets the stage for a suspense thriller. But what happens when Kiriti meets Kalo Bhromor off the big screen? Of course, they talk about detectives and antagonists — in cinema and literature! The key players of the film, which released on Friday, came together for a chat — organised by Camellia Productions — that was steered by Riddhi Sen (Koushik’s son) at Camellia’s Royal Oak Banquet Hall, Gariahat Mall, recently. Only t2 was there.

Riddhi Sen: Detective films are the flavour of the season. While Feluda and Byomkesh Bakshi enjoy tremendous popularity, Shabor has also made its mark with two films. Then why pick a Kiriti Roy story? Don’t you feel there is a risk factor?

Anindya Bikas Datta: We have not just picked Kiriti, there is Kalo Bhromor too.  The detective stories we see are mostly whodunits. Here, the hero and the anti-hero are already established from the beginning. And then a series of events happen that take the story forward. 
 
Riddhi: But why come out with a Kiriti film in 2016?

Anindya: The newspapers are full of stories of serial killers today. Author Nihar Ranjan Gupta noted that ‘paap punya paasha paashi chole’, in Kalo Bhromor. Good is Kiriti, and evil is Kalo Bhromor. 

Riddhi: Why cast Indraneil Sengupta as Kiriti?

Anindya: Kiriti is tall, more than 6 feet tall. He is a shahebi Bangali. Nihar Ranjan Gupta’s daughter showed me some of her dad’s old photographs, and in one picture I found a certain kind of similarity with Indraneil. And Indraneil with his sharp look fits Kiriti’s description. 

Riddhi: The Kiriti stories started coming out from the 1950s. How have you set the story in the present milieu?

Anindya: See, the characters are quite modern. Crime rate has gone up while the trust factor has gone down. Revenge killing would happen then, and is still happening now. 
 
Riddhi: There is a Kalo Bhromor and a Kiriti within us...

Anindya: Correct. And the system produces them. 

Riddhi: Kalo Bhromor has a very interesting history in my family. My grandfather, the late Shyamal Sen, one of the best actors of his time, played the part of Kalo Bhromor on radio. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the radio show took place and it was so popular that  streets would empty out! A lot of my dad’s friends told me they were big fans of my grandfather’s Kalo Bhromor.... So, why cast Koushik Sen as Kalo Bhromor?  

Anindya: See, Koushik has this soft and innocent look and one just cannot predict the dangerous turn his character, Dr Sanyal, takes in the film. 

Riddhi: Indraneilda, Bengali detectives are so popular on the big screen. Now Kiriti is new and quite different. Did you feel sceptical before accepting this film?

Indraneil Sengupta: There are many detective characters in Bengali literature. And when the films become popular there is an attempt at making other detective films too because the Bengali audience has an affinity for detective stories. I am not a typical Bengali but even I have an affinity for detective stories. Around four years ago I was approached by someone else to do Kiriti. I don’t think they had the rights. They just told me that there is this rough and tough character.... And I never really felt that competition because every character has their own USP, they are written and positioned in a different way. The characters, when they were written, didn’t feel any threat from anyone else. So why as actors should we feel that?
 
Riddhi: Did you feel a certain kind of ease in playing the character?

Indraneil: Probably. I work out, so that goes in favour of the character. Actually I don’t belong to any place and that works for me. I was born in Agartala, brought up in Ahmedabad, then I moved to Bombay and I am also a Bengali.
 
Riddhi: So has the detachment worked somewhere?

Indraneil: Yes... also the city where I live in informs my mannerisms, so my body language, pace is different from the pace you would associate with someone who lives in Calcutta. Casting plays a very important part, and the costume, the script... all those things fortunately worked in my favour.
 
Riddhi: Did you read the original story before shooting the film?

Indraneil: I must admit... I don’t like reading too much. I read the story when I’m offered the movie. But I always try to depend on the script, and if I can honestly follow that then most of the work is done. For a better understanding I read the story. Everything else, Anindyada told me, from Kiriti’s mannerisms to the way he speaks. 

Riddhi: Who is your fave Bengali detective?

Indraneil: I have read Feluda and Byomkesh Shomogro. Personally, I like Feluda more.  

Riddhi: Moving on to Kalo Bhromor now. Did Dadu’s characterisation help you or did you conceive the character yourself?

Koushik Sen: Since it was a radio play, I had only heard his voice. And good actors would act in those radio plays. Gautam Chakraborty, who played Kiriti, was called Bangla radio’s Uttam Kumar... he was so famous... only for his voice. He acted in Satyajit Ray’s Jana Aranya. He was famous for radio acting. When playing Kalo Bhromor, my father would change his voice because he couldn’t show anything physically.  For me though, it was different... so I didn’t change my voice much. 

Riddhi: What do you have to say about this increasing popularity of detective films in Bengal?

Koushik: Are we easily getting drawn to crime or fictionalised crime? Are we getting habituated with the news of crime or its depiction on television? We watch news of crime on television while having our lunch or dinner. This psychology is dangerous and at the same time it describes our society, that we are living in such a violent world where murders have become a spectacle. And then a new detective, Kiriti, arrives on the scene. Like any other detective he has  that sense… that you are on the wrong side, however talented you are. Kalo Bhromor feels that he is cleaning the society but Kiriti sees it differently. 

This is the second time I am working with Indraneil, and I feel very comfortable working with him… he has this detached, dispassionate quality in his acting. And since he plays a truth seeker, I feel he needs to be detached. That comes across in his body language. Meanwhile, my Dr Sanyal/ Kalo Bhromor is very passionate. Which is why this chemistry has worked out really well. Which is why I feel this combination might work.
Anindya: To me Kiriti is a more humane character… he is a hero, is physically fit, intelligent, and has a romantic side to him. 

Koushik: I have a question for Arunima (who plays Krishna Mehta in the film). Both Kiriti and Kalo Bhromor are dominant characters and naturally the audience will be interested to know the outcome of the clash between these two. So as an actor did you feel left out?     

Arunima Ghosh: No. The film obviously revolves around the two characters but I have a balanced, significant role too. My character’s relationship with Kiriti develops beautifully.

Riddhi (to Rupa Datta): Were you confident from the very beginning about producing a Kiriti film? 

Rupa: We were confident from the very beginning. With the film’s strong cast, storyline and the thrill factor, we feel the film will leave a mark. We knew from Day One that this would be a different kind of a psychological thriller. 

 

 

A question from a cast member who is also a director

Ranjan Ghosh: The Kalo Bhromor font is bigger in the poster than Kiriti’s. Is Kalo Bhromor the protagonist and Kiriti the antagonist?

Anindya: There’s a balance in our society of good and evil. Whenever a Kalo Bhromor appears, a Kiriti will be there to confront him... he’ll arrive to maintain order.