Rahul, Paddanava Dasgupta, Rimjhim Mitra, Sudeshna Roy, Abhijit Guha and Neel Dutt at the script-reading session. Picture by Aranya Sen

Post-Prem By Chance, Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha are ready to direct a comedy with the quirky name Hercules — Confidencer Baap, starring Rahul, Rimjhim Mitra and Saswata Chatterjee. t2 dropped by a script-reading session at the film’s producer Debrup Sen’s Ballygunge residence to find out what the team’s up to...

What is Hercules all about?

Sudeshna: It’s about change and protest. The film also asks whether all changes in life are welcome.

Paddanava Dasgupta (script writer): It’s about getting your spine back.

Rahul: And also about getting your money back (looks at the producer)! It’s about a dream.

Rimjhim: It’s about a support system.

Can you be more specific?

Abhijit: At the centre of the story is Harakailash Chakraborty, a scrawny young man who doesn’t have the guts to speak up for himself. Harakailash believes in amusing others, so when someone slaps him on one cheek he offers the other. He lives alone in a dilapidated building and believes that his parents are still alive.... Rahul plays Harakailash. There’s a lot of fun and humour in the film but it’s not slapstick comedy.

Sudeshna: The para guys make fun of Harakailash. They call him Hercules because Hercules, the mythical hero, was strong and Harakailash is weak and meek. It’s about how a frail, timid man becomes very confident, hence the tagline ‘Confidencer Baap’. It’s a straightforward film with a lot of room for emotions.

Abhijit: You could call it a black comedy. It’s unlike the films we’ve made so far. We are targeting the urban as well as the suburban audience.

Rahul, do you find the role challenging?

Rahul: I think Harakailash is me, in the sense that even I am short and thin like him. It’s a very different character for me.

Sudeshna: Yes, that’s why we’ve chosen Rahul. Harakailash is small and thin. Sorry Rahul... I mean you look the part (laughs out loud)!

What does Rimjhim play?

Rimjhim: I play Minu, who runs an STD booth, and Harakailash is enamoured of her. Minu is an attractive girl. All the para guys want to date her!

Rimjhim seems to be a favourite of both you and Abhijit...

Sudeshna: (Laughs) The whole idea behind casting Rimjhim is that nobody has seen her in such a role. She has an urban look and we thought it would be fun to give her a not-so-urban look. Besides, she is a good actress.

Rimjhim: I don’t think I am a fixture in Sudeshnadi and Abhijitda’s films. I wasn’t there in Prem By Chance. But I think this role is going to be very challenging for me. I have never played a character like Minu. And it would be great working with Rahul. There’s Apuda (Saswata) too.

Abhijit: Saswata plays a para goon who is after Hercules’s property. He often threatens him to give up the house. Saswata’s name in the film is Mosh!

Neel, what kind of music are you planning for Hercules?

Neel Dutt: I am composing five songs and the background score for the film. The songs take the story forward; they are an intrinsic part of the film. The story reminds me of the Harry Potter films and also Charlie Chaplin. So, the songs will have an element of fantasy and the feel of the suburbs.