Extra Special

The analogy that Pandey draws is impressive indeed but Pandey insists that his film doesn’t rest on that basic premise. “Shukno Lanka is also about forgotten dreams. It is a story of fears,reconciliation and finally of living a magic,” says Pandey.

Mithun Chakraborty plays the role of a middle aged man who has survived in Tollywood for over two decades playing bit roles. “He is reconciled to being a junior-artiste. He carries back home a meager Rs.250 on days he finds work. Chinu Nandy (Chakraboty’s character) has no more illusions left. But then life has other things in store for him,” says Pandey. An acclaimed director offers Nandy the central role in his adaptation of Paras Pathar. “The Paras Pathar that the director adapts in Shukno Lanka is actually a Ritwik Ghatak short story and has nothing to do with the Satyajit Ray film of the same name,” adds Pandey.

The film is actually a conceptual tribute to Satyajit Ray though,a director who has shaped Pandey’s sensibilities. “The dingy lanes of the city,the humdrum of a typical day at a Tollygunge studio,we have tried to balance the allegorical elements of the film with a very humanistic approach. Much like what Ray used to do,” says Pandey.

The film also boasts of a strong supporting cast. Debosree Roy,Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Australian actor Emma Brown star alongside Mithun in the film. “Shukno Lanka is about assertion of dreams. That’s probably the best way to describe the film,” sums up Pandey.