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| Srijato, Parambrata, Aniruddha and Srijit chat in a coffee shop. Pictures: Rashbehari Das |
t2: Param, what’s your take on Jaatishwar?
Param: I think Jaatishwar is Srijit’s best film in terms of mounting, it’s his most heartfelt film, and his most organically developed film… he has lived with Kabir Suman’s songs for such a long time, and he has made a film from a song.
Srijit: In terms of critical acclaim, Jaatishwar has been my best outing so far. The reviews and audience response have been overwhelming. It started slow but picked up really well from the second week. Why do you think this is my best film?
Param: I really enjoyed watching it.
Srijit: You mean, this film gave you the maximum emotional satisfaction?
Param: Yes, and the moment we got into Chandernagore, I wanted to go with Kushal Hazra on his journey. I wanted to travel with Antony. And I liked the cutting to and fro between the past and present.
Aniruddha: It’s a beautifully crafted film, the kabigaaner larai is so well researched... I was moved by various elements in the film, like the background score, the presentation...
Param: I have not seen kabigaan in Bengali films in the last 20 years.... Those of us who have experienced deja vu know this... maybe it happens to us for 10 seconds, but those 10 seconds are horrific, it’s so suffocating, dom aatke ashe. It throws you off balance. Now if someone is going through this constantly, then he’ll go mad.
Srijit: Srijato, tell us about your views...
Srijato: I am among those few rare Bengalis who have not made a film yet (everyone starts laughing). And I was worried how Srijit’s film would do without my songs! (Laughs) Of course, Sumanda (Kabir Suman, composer of Jaatishwar) took care of it. This is an amazing film.
Srijit: You had given me an interesting analogy. We were discussing 22shey Srabon and Jaatishwar, and you had said that the appeal of 22shey Srabon is Chandrabindoo while Jaatishwar is Kabir Suman… one is cerebral while the other is from the heart…
Aniruddha: Which is the cerebral one?
Srijit: 22shey is cerebral, and...
Aniruddha: I would say it’s the opposite!
Srijato: For me, Rohit (Jisshu Sengupta) is jaatishwar. His ‘reincarnation’ is more important than Antony Firingee’s (Prosenjit). For people like us who do not believe in reincarnation, we also go through different lifetimes in one life.
Srijit: And apart from Jisshu and Prosenjit’s characters, the song E tumi kemon tumi is also jaatishwar. The song has the memory of 150 years of folk music.
Aniruddha: I feel this film just happened. A friend of mine had told me, ‘You can’t make a film, a film happens.’
Param: Which is why I feel this is Srijit’s most heartfelt film…
Aniruddha: There is a realisation in this film. And Prosenjit (who plays Antony Firingee and Kushal Hazra) is outstanding, his performance is mind-blowing....
Param: And he has managed to make himself so ordinary...
Srijato: The story becomes the hero...
Srijit: Why do you feel this is my best film till date?
Srijato: All your films have this dazzling quality! They are meant to be dazzling. But this film doesn’t aim to dazzle. There’s no need for it to do so. It’s a love story…
Aniruddha: Less is more...
Param: Jaatishwar is a sensitive, soft film, like a guy playing a nylon string guitar all alone in a stadium after a rocking, adrenaline-fuelled concert.
Srijato: This is like a putt from you, a humble putt...
Aniruddha: The sound of silence is louder. A caddie had once told me, ‘It’s not about the power, it’s about the connect. It’s about the timing.’
Param: The connect has happened here. Previously, I had felt Srijit’s Hemlock Society came from the heart, and it was closest to my heart.
Aniruddha: Visually this is his strongest film. Srijit, I wanted to ask you about the lenses you have used in the film… for example, why have you used a fish-eye lens, or used odd angles?
Srijit: I wanted to give the audience the Antony experience. I wanted the audience to have a first-hand experience of what Kushal feels as Antony... a kind of dizzy, weird, uneasy, disconcerting vision of things all around. I wanted the audience to feel it through the lensing, the cuts. Kushal’s mental state then becomes much more relatable.
Param: That worked for me. I felt the track where Amitabha and Sudeshna (friends of Mahamaya, played by Swastika Mukherjee) meet after many years could have been economised.
Srijit: I wanted to juxtapose Mahamaya’s loneliness against these two people getting together, and create a situation where Mahamaya is refusing to surrender to the concept of love or even refusing to admit to herself that she can actually fall in love with someone. Mamadi (Mamata Shankar, who plays Mahamaya’s mother) even tells her: ‘Amitabha and Sudeshna have settled down. Tui ebar ekta prem tem kor!’
Param: Jaatishwar has a few gizmo shots, like a helicam going up, which for me don’t go with the pitch and tone of the film.
Srijit: That was also part of the design. Every transition in the film happens at a height.
Srijato: I think we should all be thankful to Srijit for bringing back Sumanda to music direction after so many years. He is such a prolific musician, but he does only a few shows in Kala Mandir these days...
Param: I’m not so sure how much of Sumanda’s music is for films, I have my doubts... I’ve heard the music he has composed for films like Shedin Chaitramaash and Mahasangram…
Srijit: There’s also Bhoy, Surya Kanya, Aatmaja…
Param: ...and none of these worked for me. I am a Suman gunograhi, but I don’t suffer from Suman mania (grins and looks at Srijit and Srijato). I am critical of his public performances these days. We used to sing his songs, like E tumi kemon tumi, Khudar kasam jaan in our adda sessions. I listen to the soundtrack more for the kabigaan. I like that better. A setting like that is meant to take you into the world. The film managed to take me into that zone, into that time (177 years ago). That’s where the success of the film lies. It makes a jaatishwar out of you as well.
Srijit: Well said!
t2: What are your thoughts on the length of the film?
Srijit: Ninety nine per cent of the people have said this is my best film. The only negative point that very rarely came up was the length…
Aniruddha: Length?! If Srijato feels he’ll write a 10-page-long poem.
Srijit: But people have said they have liked the film despite its length (2 hours 25 minutes). And I can’t edit a single moment.
Srijato: The pace of a film, whether it’s slow or not, is so subjective.
t2: Script to screen, are you satisfied?
Srijit: I have made the least number of mistakes in Jaatishwar. It’s the closest I have got to perfection in executing my script.
Aniruddha: If you are happy, that’s the ultimate thing.
t2: What were your expectations before the release of the film?
Srijit: Every film that I have made has achieved some kind of success, be it critical acclaim or at film festivals, box office. Jaatishwar is a happy marriage of all these factors to varying amounts.
Aniruddha: After watching the film, the songs grew on me. I feel like listening to the songs again and again.
t2: What was the most interesting thing you learnt while making Jaatishwar?
Srijit: I lived Rohit’s life because I had to do the exact research that Rohit does, so the process of discovery happened with me as well. I went through books, the different types of songs... the journey was mine as well. And now I find out that the journey has become everyone else’s… everyone is saying, ‘It’s my journey too.’ Knowing my roots, knowing where I came from, knowing the word I utter has resonance 150 years back, knowing the song that I sing, the love that I love has a history… that journey is mine too, not only as a director but also as a member of the audience.
t2: Jaatishwar released on January 17. Would it have made a difference had it been released during the festive season in December?
Srijit: Maybe... it’s a difference of 40 per cent of the revenue, but that 40 per cent is nothing compared to the number of years Jaatishwar will stay in people’s hearts, as a catalogue film. People have told me that it’s archival stuff. The way the film picked up from the second week I am sure it’ll have an Ichhe or a Bhooter Bhobishyot or an Autograph kind of a run. My purpose is served. I have told my story and people have loved it. For the first time Tony (Aniruddha) wanted to take me out to dinner after watching my film! (Laughs) Jaatishwar is releasing in Singapore (February 6), and in the US in mid-February. The film is in its third week in Pune and Bangalore, which is a unique achievement for a Bangla film. And due to public demand the film was brought back to the theatres in Bombay. Now I move on and concentrate on Chatushkon.
