Going with the flow

Iti Sreekanto,based on segments picked from Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s four part mega-novel Sreekanto marked the debut of Soha Ali Khan in her first feature film. It also featured Rima Sen and Adil for the first time. It did not do well commercially. Phaltu released without any publicity and fell flat on its face. Jara Bristhitey Bhijechhilo,based on a long poem,was a beautiful film. His last film,Swarger Neechey Manush,premiered at the Osians in 2008,remains unreleased till date. But his new film Achin Pakhi shows his breaking away from off-mainstream to reach the masses.

“Achin Pakhi is my first commercial film. Produced by Kamal Bansal,I look upon it as an experiment and a challenge because I have never done a full-blown commercial film before Achin Pakhi. It is necessary to make this kind of film if one wishes to survive in the industry,” says the soft-spoken,gentle and low-profile Das. The film is a remake of a Bangladeshi film called Monpura released in Bangladesh in February last year. “It was based on a segment from Moimansingh Geetika Panchali. I invited Gias Uddin Selim who directed Monpura,to write the script. But I have made changes to suit Indian sensibilities though the storyline is identical. Monpura was dramatic but I have given Achin Pakhi a very low key and subtle treatment which is my style. I have used silence too,which happens to be my trademark,” says Das.

Subrat Dutta who wins awards with almost every screen performance,plays Achin. The film marks the entry of the beautiful teenager Manali Dey in feature films as Pakhi. Manali is one of the most famous faces on Bengali television today. Others in the cast are drawn from theatre and television. About his role in the film,distanced from his other films like Madholal Keep Walking or Chaturanga,Subrat says,“I played a very earthy and innocent character. My birthplace is Bankura,a small town,so I could relate to the character quite easily,of course with Anjandaas mentor and guide. I had to swim a lot on Ichamoti River during the daytime,in the evening and at night and at times,even early in the morning. It was freezing cold and I could hardly move my limbs. But once the camera began to roll and I heard ‘Action’ I came alive like magic. Ichamoti is noted for a dangerous kind of fish called kamat which can cut away your finger or toes under water and you will not even know it. But thankfully,none of us were affected. If Anjanda calls me again,I will say ‘yes.’ And if I were to shoot at Taki and Ichamoti again,I will say ‘Yes’ too. Kamalda is a very kind and generous person.”

“Though I was originally a village girl in Bou Katha Kou,Pakhi in this film was different. I could not prepare much for my role because I was continuously shooting for the serial at the same time. The serial is aired almost everyday. But Anjanda,Subratdaand veteran cinematographer Aseem Bose have been very helpful right through,” says Manali.

Achin Pakhi is a tragic love story. Achin,a servant in the home of the affluent and powerful Rai Saheb,is accused of a murder he did not commit. It is a cooked up case. Achin runs away and takes shelter in an island inhabited by fishermen. He meets the naive and beautiful Pakhi. They fall in love. Just when Achin chooses love over sacrifice,he is arrested and imprisoned while Pakhi is forcibly married off to Tanu,Rai Saheb’s deranged son. She commits suicide. The songs are carried over from the original film Monpura and are composed Joel Kabir of Bangladesh. The five songs include two folk numbers. Som Dasgupta has written the background score while Sanjib Dutta has edited the film.

“I consider Achin Pakhi to be one of my most visually-rich films. We shot in Machranga Dwip,an island in Taki on Ichamoti River. But my main attraction was a dilapidated house that looked like a real haunted house I needed for the film. It used to be a government guest house at one time and this is where Achin takes shelter. The remaining portions were shot on a boat on the river where the water level rises up to 15-fee during high tide. We needed permission from the BSF for security reasons and there were no problems there,” Das sums up.