Rudranil, Kanchan and Jisshu on the sets of Ektu Onnyorokom; (below) Jisshu with Arpita. Pictures by Aranya Sen

His face caked in a besan pack and two slices of cucumber cooling his eyes, Jisshu Sengupta puts his feet up to relax. In a jiffy, Rudranil Ghosh and Kanchan Mullick lunge at him, snatch the cucumber pieces and pop them into their mouths.

The result, on the sets of Ektu Onnyorokom at Bharat Lakshmi Studio, is a laugh riot — just the way debutant director Neel Mukhopadhyay had wanted it.

“We are shooting a song sequence which shows the bonding among three friends played by Jisshu, Kanchan and me,” explains Rudranil, who debuts as a scriptwriter with Ektu Onnyorokom. He has co-written the story with Paddanava Dasgupta.

“This is the story of three boys who come to Calcutta with dreams to make it big. Jisshu dreams of becoming an actor, Kanchan wants to be a political leader and I aspire to be a painter. The fun doubles when we get to ogle some wannabe models living in the opposite building. The plot takes a turn with Arpita joining the girls as a tenant,” adds Rudranil.

Ektu Onnyorokom fell into Neel’s lap after Prabhat Roy passed it up. “I don’t know why Prabhatda didn’t do the film but I was only too happy to do it as I could relate to the people associated with the film. It’s is a very today’s generation film, very youthful,” says Neel.

Indradeep Dasgupta has composed five songs for the film produced by Suraksha Aptech and Dreams Ltd.

...And a girl next door

Aprita is done with the dancing-around-trees roles; her focus now is on characters she can relate to. A girl next door, for instance, which she plays in Ektu Onnyorokom.

Though it looks like a carry-over from her comeback film Ekti Tarar Khonje, where she had played a suburban girl called Rani who comes to the city to find a job, Arpita brushes off the common factors. “I like my character in Ektu Onnyorokom. Rani in this film is a very strong and dignified girl who can face any crisis in life. Besides, this is my first film with Jisshu,” she says.

The character is in sync with her own personality, feels Arpita. “A girl next door is how people relate to me. Most directors offer me roles of a simple girl and I think I fit the bill,” she adds.

In between Ekti Tarar Khonje and Ektu Onnyorokom, Arpita did Raja Sen’s period piece Laboratory where she played Raveena Tandon’s feisty daughter Nila. “That was a very challenging role and not another girl next door.... Look, I am done with my share of playing a showpiece in films, like in Pratibad where I was there just because they needed a heroine. Now when offers come my way, I see whether my character contributes to the story in any way or not,” she signs off with a smile.

eye-catcher

SPIDER-WOMAN: Autograph director Srijit Mukherjee joins Aparajita Ghosh Das on the sets of Birsa Dasgupta’s telefilm Cinemaye Jemon Hoy. “It’s a fantasy story where I play a character called Agent Green Spider! She refuses to grow up and lives in her own world but one day reality catches up with her,” said Aparajita. Srijit plays an NRI who falls in love with her. The telefilm airs on STAR Jalsha on October 9. Picture by Aranya Sen

WOMEN IN LOVE: Mallika Mazumdar and Ushasie explore a lesbian relationship in Tar Cheye Aro Onek Beshi, a short film by LGBT forum Sappho. “I play a documentary filmmaker and Mallika plays a lecturer. We are in a same-sex relationship in the film. I found it interesting because more than a lesbian film, it’s about the celebration of a relationship,” said Ushasie.