Chandan Roy Sanyal

Suman Mukhopadhyay is ready to hit the floors with his next directorial venture Mahanagar@Kolkata, and he’s got Kaminey’s ‘Sonamoni’ Chandan Roy Sanyal on board. The cast includes Anjan Dutt, Rituparna Sengupta, Sreelekha Mitra and Arun Mukhopadhyay.

A t2 chat...

What is Mahanagar@Kolkata all about?

It’s a complex urban tale based on three short stories by Nabarun Bhattacharya. The format is like Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya. But in my film, the three stories — Ek Tukro Nyloner Dori, Amar Kono Bhoy Nei Toh and Angshik Chandragrahan — are interconnected. I have made a lot of changes to bring these three stories in one narrative domain, but that doesn’t mean that if you miss one you won’t understand the other. The theme of the film is vulnerability, fear and urban insecurities. It’s very different from my last two films, Herbert and Chaturanga. This film is much more contemporary. It’s got a very different kind of stylisation.

What does Chandan play in the film?

Chandan is there in the first and the third stories. He plays Rohit, an urban man on the verge of committing suicide. I liked Chandan very much in Kaminey. I liked his physicality and his energy level, which matches Rohit’s. I had SMSed him immediately after watching the film, offering him the role. Though I knew Chandan, I hadn’t recognised him then. Chandan has long been associated with theatre. He has worked with Habib Tanvir and played Lysander in Tim Supple’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. So, Chandan SMSed me back, asking how I could have failed to recognise him!

Rituparna and Sreelekha

What is the cast line-up for the other two stories?

There’s Anjan, in the first and the third story. Rituparna is also there in the first and the last stories. She plays Chandan’s wife, Rangeen. Her character is a little surreal. Sreelekha plays Kamalika. There’s a hint of an extramarital affair between Kamalika and Rohit. I want to play with time and space.... Anjan plays Monmatha in Ek Tukro Nyloner Dori. The story is about a night in a hospital. There’s fear, crime and a bit of black magic. I chose Anjan because I wanted a mature actor in the role of Monmatha. Besides, I like him as an actor. My father (Arun Mukhopadhyay) will be acting in a film after many years. He plays Biresh in Amar Kono Bhoy Nei Toh, a man engulfed with constant fear.

Weren’t you supposed to make Mahanagar@Kolkata with Prosenjit and a different set of actors?

Yes, Prosenjit was to play Anjan’s role. Everything had been finalised but my producers backed out at the last minute. So it got shelved. I discussed the film with Prosenjit again. But I guess he has done quite a few ‘different’ films, like Houseful, Shob Charitra Kalponik and Clerk.... I want to make a film with Prosenjit which will be very, very different from what he has already done.

Suman

When do you start shooting Mahanagar@Kolkata?

I will go on the floors in the first week of October. Pawan Kanoria is producing Mahanagar@Kolkata. We will shoot only in Calcutta. Rupam is singing three songs, which are ballads on Calcutta.

Who is your target audience?

It will be a two-hour film and I want to target everyone. I would like to communicate with as many people as I can. And I hope my film will get a larger chain of halls than just Nandan, Priya and the multiplexes.

 

Have you abandoned K for Krishnendu and Kalchinha?

No, I still want to do those two films. But there’s a problem with the budget. K for Krishnendu is a low-budget film and casting Mithunda (Chakraborty) is expensive. But I will make both films once I am through with Mahanagar@Kolkata.