Team Durga Sohay got together at Chapter 2, Mani Square, and dug into Devilled Crabs, Grilled Bekti, Poached Bekti, Prawn Newburg, Pork Chops, Chicken Tetrazzini, Carbonara, Nachos with Salsa and Fruit Custard. “Chapter 2’s Devilled Crab and Pork Chops are too good,” said Arindam Sil. Pictures: Pabitra Das
The sound of dhaak, the sight of the idol and women clad in red-and-white saris, welcoming smiles and the taste of bhog…
Durga Puja celebrations were on in full swing in a Bowbazar house last December. The reason? Arindam Sil was shooting Durga Sohay. “Durga Sohay captures different aspects of Puja, from the arrival of the idol to the five-day celebrations to the immersion,” says Arindam, whose film is now in its third week. Arindam takes t2 through some behind-the-scenes moments.
Food fun: Navami’s khichuri was a big hit and everyone dug into the bhog prepared for a scene even after the cameras stopped rolling. For the Navami night scene, we had everything from luchi to dhokar dalna and chhanar kalia. We prepared all the authentic Puja dishes like narkoler naru for the shoot. I got to relive my childhood Puja days. Everything was done just like we did it at home years ago. All the puja utensils used in the film are from my house. The alpona you see in the house is done by my daughter (Sonika).
Cool cameo: From the beginning I knew that I’d do that cameo. You still see progressive people who respect old values. Since I had shown all the aspects of Puja, I felt why leave out the bijoya pronam?! So this person who is related to the family comes and gives a personal touch.
Morning memory: We did the Kola Bou Snan sequence, the Mahalaya tarpan and the idol immersion on the same morning from 3am. We were shivering. Sohini’s schedule was over but she was there. The team spirit was incredible.
Paying a tribute: To Satyajit Ray in my own way through a scene where the idol is being painted. It’s a nod to Ray’s Joi Baba Felunath. (Feluda walks over to the man painting the idol and asks, ‘The day after is Sashthi. Will your job be over by then?’ and he replies, ‘Yes.’) In my film, Bhrigu (Rwitobroto Mukherjee) asks, ‘How many more days will you take to finish painting the idol?’ and the painter of the idol says, ‘Seven days’.
The camera buff: Gairik Sarkar (cinematographer) and I had decided that we’d shoot with hand-held camera. We took really tight shots to underline the intimacy in the story. We had decided from before that we would not take too many wide-angle shots. It made the scenes more compact. We wrapped up the shoot in 15 days. This would not have been possible without Gairik. And the way he used natural light is amazing.
One of the most intense scenes in the film… Was when Chhotobou (Tonushree) confronts Durga (Sohini) who tries to run away after stealing some jewellery… I told them not to hold back. I wanted the scene to be very realistic. It was done in a single shot. At one point I was scared when they were jostling in the courtyard!
Arindam Chatterjee
