A still from Shunyo e Buke shows Rupa Ganguly and Churni Ganguly

Siliguri, Jan 9: Kaushik Ganguly of Shunyo e Buke-fame will try to capture the lost glory of hill schools when he directs Prasenjit in a film located in Kurseong.

In Sir, Prasenjit will play the role of a visually challenged teacher of a school that is entangled in a legal dispute.

“While the plot revolves around the love story between the teacher and a solicitor (the actress who will play this role is yet to be decided), the film seeks to portray the old aura of the schools in the hills set up by the British,” Ganguly told The Telegraph.

“The role is a new challenge for me as an actor,” Prasenjit said. “It is completely different from what I have done in my earlier films and I am looking forward to it.”

The story is set in Kurseong and the film is likely to be shot at one of the very old English schools that the hill town boasts of. Ganguly credits his wife Churni for his fascination with the Darjeeling hills: she spent most of her growing years there and went to Victoria School for Girls in Kurseong.

However, before he starts shooting for Sir, the director will complete Brake Fail, his tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and he appeared more willing to talk about that.

“It is a complete fun-film starring Parambrata, Koel Mullick, Saswata, Santu Mukherjee and Anu Kapoor,” Ganguly said. “Anu (Kapoor), who is a seasoned actor with a lot of experience in the Hindi film industry, has a very important role to play in the film as Papaji.”

“It is my tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee, whose films have had a lasting influence on me,” the director added. “The film is a subtle comedy of manners and it should be able to strike a chord with everybody.”

Ganguly starts shooting for Brake Fail on February 3 at Jhargram Palace in West Midnapore, before moving on to Bolpur and Calcutta. “As soon as I am done with it, I will start working on Sir,” he said.

Calcutta filmmakers often use the scenic beauty of the Darjeeling hills and the Dooars as a background for outdoor shoots. Sir, however, will be one of the few films to deal extensively with a local subject.

Ganguly had earlier chosen the subject of male sexual fantasy about ideal feminine beauty in Shunyo e Buke. He has also directed Warish and a host of telefilms.