Srijit Mukherji’s latest film, the futuristic love story X=Prem, talks about how the power of love can solve any and all adversaries in one’s life. To complement the story and the storytelling, Srijit is making the film in black-and-white. “This is my first full-fledged film in black-and-white, though there were black-and-white sections in Ek Je Chhilo Raja, Chotushkone and Gumnaami. Usually black-and-white is done based on the timeline of a story, for period pieces and flashbacks. Though in Ek Je... I used the reverse principle. I used colour for flashback and black-and-white for the present. As a metaphor, I felt it went very well with the black-and-white nature of truth which was being debated in court. In X= Prem it is purely a stylistic decision, purely aesthetic. I thought it would look very good visually. It would complement the story and the storytelling. It is a futuristic college romance so there are various timelines, there is a lot of mystery... lot of freshness to the cast, to the story. Black-and-white has its own charm, the visuals have their own magic, it is very exciting for me. Also it is my first venture with Subhankar (DoP) and we thought let’s make it special,” says Srijit.

“I have had a lovely experience working with Srijitda. There is this constant exchange of ideas. Since it is a futuristic love story, the black-and-white adds an element of nostalgia. The intensity of the script is also accentuated,” says cinematographer Subhankar Bhar.

X=Prem — starring Arjun Chakrabarty, Madhurima Basak, Anindya Sengupta and Shruti Das — deals with the complexities of human emotions and selflessness of love as well as the pain one has to face in life. “Depicting every phase of one’s life, X=Prem (produced by SVF) promises to be a heartwarming romantic journey!” says Srijit.

The choice of making it in black-and-white is intriguing since the original title was Deja Vu. “Yes, there is a very subtextual link to it,” says Srijit.