Mahalaya mornings are synonymous with Birendra Krishna Bhadra’s voice reciting the Chandipath and the timeless Mahishashurmardini on television and radio. This year, that nostalgia will get a futuristic twist with an AI-generated Mahalaya film created by director Sourav Das and producer Soumi Datta Roy.
Das, who earlier directed Kohinoor, a science fiction film in Bengali, calls this an experimental step towards blending tradition with technology. “I thought of adding AI and VFX to make it a larger-than-life project. We have grown up watching Marvel movies, but we also have our own stories. So why not use technology to bring them alive?” he said.
The film, titled Shakti, focusses on Durga’s power and women's empowerment. “We wanted to show how powerful Durga is. The impact of Durga’s Mahishashurmardini is a complete story. Hopefully, people will like this version of the iconic Mahishashurmardini,” Das added.
The faces of the deities have been modelled on real faces. The face of Adwitiya Mukherjee has been used to make the character of Durga. The AI, VFX and editing have been done by Sourav Das, along with Moubani Dalui.
Though the teaser is already out, the 30-minute project will premiere for free on September 21 (Mahalaya) at 5am on the YouTube channel SDCU Films. Das believes this is just the beginning of something big. “We are doing this as a trial run. If it is successful, next time we will add more characters,” he said.