Aniruddha, a veteran ad filmmaker, won the National Award for the Best Bengali film with his first directorial venture Anuranan (jointly with Suman Ghosh). He has managed this casting coup. These two great star-actresses have willingly agreed to do two stellar roles in his new film now on the floors. “I am honoured to be able to bring these two pillars of Indian cinema together in my second film,” says Aniruddha. “Aparna had heard the script and had liked it. So, when I asked her to do one of the two major roles, she agreed without much hesitation. As far as Sharmilaji is concerned, hers is a very important role. I was wondering who would suit the role of Moni Pishi, the elderly aunt who holds the strings of the story together. Then, one day, I watched Satyajit Ray’s Seemabaddha and at once felt she would be ideal for the role. I wanted a person with a regal personality and a strong screen presence who would also have to be a good actress. She listened to the story and the script and told me, ‘I’ll do it, go ahead,’ and I was thrilled.”
Roy Choudhury adds that none other than Aparna Sen would have suited the character of Paromita who had to be a bit elderly, very sharp and intelligent and be able to deliver the goods. The other casting coup of the film is Kalyan Ray, Aparna Sen’s real-life husband, who is playing her screen husband in the film. “They are an elderly married couple in the film and live separately though they are not divorced. Kalyan is doing a fine job though he is not a professional actor,” Roy Choudhury informs who is currently shooting at different locations in the city till much past midnight.
Paromita Choudhury is the marketing director of a popular television channel. The beautiful Paromita once toyed with photography as a hobby. Her husband, Ranjan Choudhury, is Moni Pishi’s nephew. Moni Pishi lives alone in a spacious apartment in Kolkata. She is sometimes pained by the loneliness of her life and tries to kill her loneliness by doing different things. “The story revolves around the fluctuating relationships of three different couples. One of them is Paromita and Ranjan. Abhik and Brinda Choudhury, played by Rahul Bose and Radhika Apte, is the second couple. Rahul is Ranjan’s younger brother and works with the Kolkata police. He meets Brinda, a South Indian television journalist, through an Internet chat session. They later marry. The third couple comprises of the very affluent Sharmas, Shalini and her husband. Mita Vashisht plays Shalini and Shauvik, a NRI who made his debut in Roy Choudhury’s first film, is performing her husband’s role “I took Mita because she suits the role of an affluent non-Bengali housewife in her late thirties. The three couples lead their separate lives but somehow, their stories come together towards the climax. Revealing more would be giving the kick away,” Aniruddha elaborates. Radhika Apte is a familiar name in Marathi theatre in Mumbai.
Antaheen means infinite. “We lead different lives. But the struggles, the inner pain, the tensions in our lives are endless, infinite. This word, ‘infinite’ I believe, is woven into every layer of our lives. This is how the title of the film came up. It is basically a love story, a story of how relationships begin, evolve, break, deconstruct and reconstruct themselves along the journey of life. Today’s audience likes to see films rooted in reality. They wish to discover themselves and identify with the characters while watching the film. Anuranan followed this track. Antaheen extends this argument further. At the same time, a filmmaker cannot afford to forget the critical question of commercial success,” says Aniruddha.
Abhik Mukhopadhyay is the cinematographer of Antaheen produced by Screenplay Films. Shantanu Moitra is the music director. Music forms another USP of the film with Shreya Ghoshal, Babul Supriyo, Sreekanto Acharya and Antara Choudhury lending their voices to the songs. The lyrics have been penned by Anindyo and Chandril, lead singers of the noted Bangla Band Chandrabindu. The production design that covers art direction, make-up, etc. is Malay Bhattacharya’s responsibility. Arghya Kamal Mitra will edit the film. “I think the audience will like this film,” sums up the soft-spoken, gentle and unassuming Aniruddha Roy Choudhury.
