Payel and Soham shoot in Siliguri

The sleepy Diesel Colony, off Hill Cart Road at Siliguri junction, has suddenly found a reason to be busy. On a green field with wild shrubs, Challenge director Raj Chakraborty has placed his camera to shoot his third love story — an untitled project starring Soham and Payel.

A large number of residents — mostly Nepalis, tribals and a few Bengalis — have flocked to catch the action on a sunny afternoon. The location could have been closer home in a suburb of Calcutta, but Raj has his reasons for coming up all the way to Siliguri.

“I love shooting in Siliguri. The locales are beautiful, the people are well-behaved. See there are so many people around but they are not disturbing us. Besides, I am nostalgic as this was the place where my first film Chirodini…Tumi Je Aamar was also shot. The other reason is because the story demanded a location like this. Soham is a colony boy and falls for the sophisticated Payel,” says Raj.

Payel, who is Ria in the film, is shooting a song on a makeshift stage where rogue Ravi (Soham) walks in and does a Pant-ey taali aar pocket khali, the hit number from Chirodini. As soon as Soham breaks into a jig, the crowd starts cheering.

Soham has changed his look for the role. “I have grown a beard and I am sporting a rough-and-tough look. Rajda has barred me from divulging more details…. I love shooting in Siliguri as my hometown is just an hour’s drive from here,” smiles the Jalpaiguri boy.

After four-five takes, Payel finally finds the time to watch her performance on the monitor. “After the success of I Love You and Cross Connection, I want to do more Bengali films. I am getting mobbed all the time! The people are very nice here and they are calling me the I Love You Didi!”

The team will be back in Calcutta next week to shoot the rest of the film on a huge set at NT 1.