Reeling terror

Terrorism is at your doorstep, affirms Digvijay Sawant who plays Abbas Kureshi in the film, as director Yogesh Soman portrays the penetration of terrorism at the proletariat level, shattering the social, religious and cultural framework through the film Achanak.

Yogesh Soman, through his film Achanak portrays a new angle of terrorism, showing how easily it can seep into a normal household.

Terrorism is at your doorstep, affirms Digvijay Sawant who plays Abbas Kureshi in the film, as director Yogesh Soman portrays the penetration of terrorism at the proletariat level, shattering the social, religious and cultural framework through the film Achanak. Set to release in November the cast and crew of Achanak interacted with the audiences during its screening at the Asian Film Festival.

The film tries to put across a situation where a Muslim family is provoked to promote disparaging actions and Soman feels that the time and the treatment to the subject in the film is appropriate taking into consideration the ongoing terrorist activities. 8220;The issue might be new to Marathi cinema but it has been reflected through various films. The way I have tried to position it is very identifiable in the current period. It shows how two disruptive men are shaping the mentality of a secular middle class Muslim family, influencing their mindset rather than the normal shoot and blast activities. In fact during working on the film I haven8217;t watched a single film related to terrorism to avoid any influence. It8217;s an untainted attempt to show the issue through a very different outlook,8221; saysSoman.

The film has the well-known actors Mohan Joshi, Reema Lagoo, Swapnashil Rajshekhar as well as newcomers like Savant and Amita Apte. Sharad Pongshe plays the character of an Indian Muslim, Raj Chaudhari, who has remained exposed to contempt because of his religion. 8220;We must deeply contemplate on the saying, all Muslims are not terrorists. The society tries to overtly generalise the community. Perhaps as the film shows, many families and people from educated backgrounds are being heaved into this and that8217;s the reason we see the arrested men to be well qualified and without prior criminal records,8221; adds Pongshe.

Sangramsinh Nalawade is the debutant producer who intends to support social issues through his Suryodaya Films International as he adds, 8220;Through my organisation I also want to provide a platform for the new talent and unusual concerns. The storyline has been wonderfully written and articulated. It has been a team effort of talented and experienced people.8221;

A play earlier Achanak, written by Soman has won numerous awards including the Maharashtra Government Award. 8220;When people would watch the play they would say, it needs to be a film. I have not changed the script and although most of the story is confined to a location and one particular family the creativity and camera have brought out pleasing results. My purpose is met,8221; grins Soman.