Shukno Lanka, a tribute to Satyajit Ray

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Reinventing the Satyajit Ray classic Paraspathar (Touchstone), by highlighting the spirit of the common man, young director Gaurav Pandey is keyed up for ascertaining the success of Shukno Lanka, the first Bengali film to be premiered for three successive days in three metros."While in the Ray classic, veteran Bengali actor Tulsi Chakraborty was the common man in pursuit of the elusive 'paraspathar' (touchstone), I have contemporized the theme, but the spirit remains the same. I would rather call it my tribute to Ray," Pandey told PTI here at the film's premiere in Kolkata on Wednesday night.Asked if there was any similarity in the plot of the classic and his film, Pandey replied, "No no. Only in the plot there is a reference to a film named Paraspather. What I mean is that like in Ray's classic, I have also depicted the common man in pursuit of a dream, but always spurned by fate or destiny, as the protagonist."To a question about the intriguing title, Shukno Lanka (dry red chilli), Pandey said, "The common man's role in everyday life is like dry red chilli in cooking. Though it makes food tastier it is seldom acknowledged like other spices."Do you acknowledge the roles of ordinary people who make our lives move? They are like dry red chilli, which is required, but never acknowledged. The junior artistes or the extras in a film, their names seldom figures in the titles. You might call my film's name a metaphor in that sense."Pandey, who had never dreamt of being a director while working as a journalist earlier, is in all praise for the main lead of the film, Mithun Chakraborty, who plays the common man in the film, a struggling actor to be more specific. "My equation with Mithunda goes beyond words. He understands my requirements perfectly and he rated this as one of his most important roles," the 40-something director who had been initiated into the world of films by assisting veteran bollywood director Basu Bhattacharjee, said.Mithun Chakraborty said, "Shukno Lanka has given me the rare opportunity to retrace my struggling days. It has taken me back closer to my roots. But if you look closely, I have not completely outgrown the Chinu Nandy of Shukno Lanka. In a way all of us are bit role players in the drama of life."He plays the role of Chinu, a middle aged junior film artiste, who has survived in an unforgiving industry.Chakraborty, who first won a national award for Mrinal Sen directed film Mrigaya said, "Every man in this world has a dream whether he is poor a rickshaw puller or Microsoft chief Bill Gates and the story of Shukno Lanka is about the dreams of a common man.""It is a beautiful film and I hope that the audience will like the film which has been directed brilliantly by Gaurav Pandey," Chakraborty said.The cross-cultural film, shot extensively in Berlin and Kolkata, also stars Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Australian actress Emma Garnett Brown and Bengali cine star Debashree Roy.

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