Exploring Tollygunge waters

Why did you choose the title Shukno Lanka which means dry red chillies?
Shukno Lanka is a red chilly,an integral yet completely invisible aspect of the quintessential curry without which no Indian curry can be considered compete and authentic. It stands as a metaphor for our hero,Chinu Nandy,who has worked as a junior artiste in films for many years. No film can be made without junior artistes. Yet,the junior artiste,like the red chilly,remains invisible,unheard of and unsung.

What is the story about? Is it about Chinu Nandy or about the vagaries within the film industry?
The film starts with a horse carriage making its way into a dingy lane in Howrah,a suburb in Kolkata. It is a special ride Chinu Nandy has planned to take with wife Bela. The story unravels in the course of the ride. The ride is metaphorical. It provides a contrast to the journey that internationally renowned filmmaker Joy Sundar Sen and Isabella take to bring their new film Paraspathar,based on a short story penned by filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak to life. The ride is a means for Chinu Nandy to reach out to his wife Bela. It is a trigger to his fantasies and illusions. The focus is on the irony of our lives. The film is non linear- – travelling between and among time,space and lives,effortlessly. What binds it together is the tragic-comic tale of Nandy and the haunting spaces of the city of Kolkata. It is the story of a common man who wants to be a hero. The film has no definite beginning,middle or end. It is a pastiche of peoples lives as looked at by an outsider.

How did you decide on the casting of this film?
Sabyasachi Chakraborty himself chose to play the role of Joy Sundar Sen. The clincher was to choose the actor who would play Chinu Nandy,the junior artist. I could think of no one better than Mithunda in that space. To me,Mithunda symbolises the hyper reality of the world of films. It would not have been possible for any junior artiste to enact himself on film. It needed a talented actor like Mithunda so the choice was obvious. Debasree Roy was penciled in to play Joy Sundar Sens wife Jhilik. As the wife of a director who carries a luminous halo around his head,she is relegated to a lonely,isolated life lived in the shadow of a famous and talented man. Jhilik embodies the sadness of modern urban expectations. Debasree was just right to essay this character. It is difficult to portray loneliness,especially the darkness that lies at the core or light. Debasree has done it.

What is Australian model Emma Brown doing in the film?
She plays Isabella,the Paraspathar (The Philosophers Stone) who steps in to save Joy Sundars film from getting shelved for lack of funds. She becomes his friend when he goes to the Berlinalle 2007 to pick the award wherein they chance upon the short story collection of Ritwik Ghatak in a Berlin bookshop. She comes to India to save the film. I met Emma in Australia and I was lucky because she was moving to Mumbai where her husband had got a job. Emmas face attracted me.

Is the film a tribute to Satyajit Ray?
It is a tribute,not a copy. While making the film,I had often thought of Ray,his style,his Kolkata and his sense of the absurd.