Director Abhirup Ghosh is busy with the shoot of his new, yet-to-be-titled film, starring Abir Chatterjee, Priyanka Sarkar, Bibriti Chatterjee, Darshana Banik and Aishwarya Sen. The story focuses on a dysfunctional joint family.

Despite their differences, all the family members come together when it comes to the youngest member of the family, the 10-year-old Aarya, who is suffering from a mysterious, deadly disease and needs to be taken to an experimental medical facility in the USA for treatment. Unfortunately, the family cannot afford the costs.

“In order to bear the expenses, the family decides to sell off their ancestral home in a remote village. However, the house is deemed unlucky and cursed. In order to fix the house’s reputation, the family decides to organise a Durga Puja and seek the Mother Goddess’s blessings to save the child. However, just as the Puja rituals begin, different supernatural events start to haunt the family. Left with no choice, the terrified family seeks the help of a mysterious supernatural investigator called Purut. Old secrets unravel, and a race against time begins to save the child,” says Abhirup. A t2 chat with the director...

Why did you decide to make a horror action fantasy film?

I have always been a huge fan of the horror fantasy genre. I have attempted to make a film in this space earlier too with Brombhodoityo. For the last few years I have been constantly trying to make something new in this genre. I have been writing this story for more than the past one year and once I finally cracked the subject, I was super excited to tell this story. Also, we are aiming to make this a film for children. The fantasy genre is severely underexplored in India, especially in Bengal. Similarly, children’s films are rare too. So, it’s a huge challenge to attempt something like this. However, despite the challenges, we are highly excited to bring this story to life. This is something very new, but told in a very familiar, culturally relevant zone.

Why did you think a film in this genre was the right one to direct after Mrigaya?

With the tremendous positive response and critical acclaim for Mrigaya, I felt the time was right for something a bit risky. However, we have kept the massy and mainstream sensibilities intact and tried to make another wholesome entertainer after Mrigaya. Content-wise, it is very different from Mrigaya, but the entertainment quotient is the same, if not better.

Tell us about the genesis of this story.

The core idea of the story stemmed from the Durga Puja of 2020, during the first lockdown. That year, visiting Puja pandals was off limits due to COVID. I remember walking past a popular Durga Puja at around 8pm on Ashtami night. The entire premise was barricaded. It was a haunting visual to see the grand pandal stand alone, with all the lighting and decorations in place, but no people. We usually associate Durga Puja with mass celebrations and it is Bengal’s ultimate festival. The haunting visuals gave me the idea that a ghost story set during Durga Puja might be a good idea. The contrast between the ultimate Goddess of positivity and a lurking evil presence would be highly cinematic. This thought led me to write this story, which is essentially a ghost story set in a traditional Durga Puja.

What is the core conflict driving the story?

The core conflict of the story is saving an innocent child’s life from the clutches of mysterious evil forces. The film tries to highlight the nature and true meaning of a spiritual superpower and the philosophy of worship.

How will the horror elements escalate alongside the action sequences?

The horror elements have been brought in organically. We have ensured that the Puja festivities and rituals are interspersed with Bengali cultural elements to ensure strong relevance. Also, the action bits are stylised and a bit comic bookish to ensure children enjoy them. The production house, Pandey Motion Pictures is doing its best to bring my vision to life effectively. Fingers crossed, we will be able to provide a very new, yet highly entertaining cinematic experience to the audiences.

Why did you decide to cast Abir?

Abirda and I have been discussing working together for many years now and once even got very close to starting something, which unfortunately got pushed back. I really wanted to use his star power and larger-than-life on-screen persona to create a memorable character. His Purut is quirky, eccentric and larger than life. This character needed someone like Abirda, who has a mix of humility, Bengali culture and flamboyance. And he is nailing every scene. It’s not easy to bring such an eccentric character to life.

Abirda is a dream to work with. He has no hassles and is a complete director’s actor. Also, it’s fun to put his screen presence to use and do massy stuff which people are not used to seeing him do. The film also has a lot of humour and Abirda’s sharp comic timing is a treat to watch. His chemistry with the other cast members, particularly the child actor Lagnajita, forms the framework of the film. So far, we are having a great time bringing this crazy story to life.

Abir has an interesting look in the film.

We wanted to give him a very familiar look, but with a twist. We gave him the traditional dhuti-panjabi as our traditional Bengali priests are often seen in this outfit. Also, Abirda has done so many Byomkesh films and has such a strong Bangali bhodrolok image that we wanted audiences to get comfortable with the familiar imagery. This is essential to make an outlandish character relatable. We have used a lot of accessories, like a utility belt, a holster, to add an edge. We have also given boots and earrings to give a hardened, rough look. So far, we have received tremendous response for the look, particularly from Abirda’s female fans.

Tell us about the other actors and their roles in the film.

Priyanka plays Annapurna, a young widow and a mother, who is dominated by her regressive household. She is a talented woman, but is underconfident and introverted. She suffers silently, and her daughter Aarya is her life.

Bibriti Chatterjee

Bibriti plays Tanushree, the firebrand younger daughter-in-law of the family, who comes from a humble background, which is a sharp contrast to the elitist family she has married into. Tanushree has strong opinions, and unlike the timid Annapurna, she constantly stands up for herself and is always at loggerheads with her in-laws.

Darshana Banik

Darshana plays Tania, the youngest daughter of the family. Due to strong gender roles in the family, she is not allowed to work in the family business despite being highly talented. Tania seeks validation and approval from her regressive father.

Aishwariya plays Moon, a very Gen Z vlogger who runs an independent news channel that shares weird news through social media reels. She covers a case of the supernatural investigator Purut and starts to follow him around to gain millions of views by covering Purut’s supernatural adventures.