He is the king of the Bengali stage and now, he is back to the medium where he started out from. Veteran theatre practitioner Suman Mukhopadhyay (in picture below) is ready to roll out his first Bengali feature film, Herbert from March. Based on the Sahitya Akademi Award-winning book by Nabarun Bhattacharya, the film stars Vijay Raaz (in picture above with Gauri Karnik) in the title role.

?It was since 1997-98 that I had started to develop the book into a script. Ever since I read the novel, I knew that it had all the potential to be made into a film. By 2001, during the staging of Teesta Parer Brittanta, the script was completed but it was lying around with no producers showing interest. Recently, when the production company Ripples came forward and agreed to produce the film along with my production company Tritiya Sutra, we got the final draft ready,? he tells Metro.

Mukhopadhyay, who had trained in direction from the New York Film Academy, has, in the past, done a lot of documentaries and television serials, including one with Naseeruddin Shah titled Tarkash for Zee TV. ?It?s all about communicating an idea. Where the media become different from each other is in the making process. For theatre, I had to gather money and do a particular play. But cinema is a fundraising programme. The creative methodologies involved are more or less the same,? he says.

Herbert, which will go on the floors on March 1, will be largely shot in Calcutta with just one short outdoor schedule in Darjeeling. Apart from Raaz, the film will star a host of theatre and small-screen actors like Debshankar Haldar, Chandan Sen, Rudranil Ghosh and Neel. It also features Lily Chakraborty in a major role.

?The film has no heroine as such,? says Mukhopadhyay. ?In that way it is different. That, however, doesn?t mean that it has no commercial appeal. I believe if the content has something to say, it is for everyone. The Bengali films that are dished out these days are mostly confined in terms of space. Herbert does have a lot of space and will be shot in different parts of the city.?

For Mukhopadhyay, finding Herbert was a tough ask. ?I have been looking for him for a long time. But when I saw Vijay Raaz in Monsoon Wedding and Raghu Romeo and then met him personally, he connected to the role instantly. Vijay is a very sensitive actor and will be ideal for the intimate moments I want to create. He is a lovely mix of innocence and intensity, who lives in his own world. His subdued energy is ideal for my character of Herbert. While he is learning Bengali, I will have his lines dubbed.?

The film, budgeted around Rs 40-50 lakh, will be shot by Shomok Mukherjee and edited by Arghyakamal Mitra. If everything goes according to the Mukhopadhyay plan, Herbert should release by end-June.