Sreelekha Mitra

More than two decades after Satyajit Ray’s Ghare Baire, Mumbai-based debutante director Rima Mukherjee is ready with her take on the Tagore tale, with a twist. Rima’s tentatively-titled Ardhangini Ek Ardha Satya is a “musical” in Hindi.

Ardhangini stars Sreelekha Mitra as the feisty Bimala, Subrat Dutta as Sandip and Marathi theatre actor Subodh Bhave as Nikhilesh. Ray’s film had Swatilekha Sengupta as Bimala, Soumitra Chatterjee as Sandip and Victor Banerjee as Nikhilesh.

“I know there will be comparisons with Ray, but I think his interpretation of Ghare Baire was limited to Tagore’s novel. My film is different in the sense that I want to bring up the things that are left unsaid in the novel. I have perceived the novel beyond what Ray has portrayed. My approach to the subject is different from Ray’s. My film is not a remake or a copy of Ray’s Ghare Baire,” says Rima, who grew up in Dakshineswar and shifted to Mumbai 10 years ago. She had directed the mega serial Aanch for ETV Bangla six years ago.

For Sreelekha, Ardhangini is a challenge she would love to take up. “The challenge lies in the fact that Satyajit Ray has already made a film on the story. I know comparisons are bound to happen. But I will give my best shot. I am not influenced by Ray’s Swatilekha and I am not watching the film anymore. I am just reading the script and since I am an instinctive actress, I will react spontaneously on the sets. The only area where I need to concentrate on is the language. Since the film is in Hindi, I must know my lines by heart. Or else, I will be occupied more with the dialogues than the expressions,” says the actress.

Rima thinks Sreelekha is the perfect fit for her modern-day Bimala. “Sreelekha has the innocence of Bimala. Though loved by her husband, Bimala looks for something else in life. To me Ghare Baire is the journey of a woman. I was very particular about the cast. Subrat is a strong performer, and Subodh has a theatre background and suits the role of Nikhilesh,” says Rima.

Ardhangini will have six songs sung by Sukhwinder, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Vasundhara Das. Rima starts shooting from next week, but Calcutta doesn’t feature on her location list. “I will shoot in a palace near Baroda in Gujarat. It’s appropriate for the story. Besides, I think many directors have highlighted Calcutta and many have shot in the old mansions there. Location-wise, I want my film to look different,” she adds.