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 As
far as popular knowledge goes, no Indian film has featured an alien
as one of the major characters in a full-length feature film. It
was perhaps left to Black Magic Movies Pvt Ltd to pick the cudgels
of a sci-fi basically targeted for children but appealing to all.
The trio of Arjun Gaurisaria, Niti Gaurisaria and Abhijit Chaudury,
who own Black Magic, after a long journey through television commercials,
have finally ventured into a feature film. Patal Ghar features two
very talented Bollywood actors, Mita Vashisht and Joy Sengupta,
both making their debut in Tollygunje. Patal Ghar, based on a novel
for children penned by noted writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, offers
a rather striking science fiction with a time-span of more than
a century. The film is being produced by Black Magic Motion Pictures
Pvt.Ltd., initiated in 1995 by three like-minded friends, Arjun
and Niti Gaurisaria and Abhijit Chaudhuri. Primarily known for producing
commercials for television, Black Magic’s goal has forever
been feature films.
Patal Ghar is
their maiden venture with Chaudhuri directing the film. The producers
have assembled an extremely impressive cast and crew to create high
production values. From veteran Soumitra Chatterjee to the versatile
Biplab Chatterjee through Ramaprasad Banik, Kharaj Bandopadhyay
and Ketaki Dutta, apart from Mita and Joy, the film marks the debut
of nine-year-old Saurav Banerjee, grand-nephew of the great Uttam
Kumar.
 "I
am playing a fantasy character that did not exist in the original
novel. My name is Begum and it is filled with negative shades. I
enjoyed every minute of my work in the film for several reasons.
One, it gave me the chance to brush up on my Bengali, of which I
had got a smattering while working on the documentary on Ritwik
Ghatak. I have now improved on my diction and I am quite comfortable
with the dialogues. Two, for the first time, I play a fantasy character.
Three, I enjoyed every minute of working with the unit and the fresh
locations were more of an adventure for me than just work,"
says Mita about her Tollywood experience. "I have been looking
for a break in Bengali films for a long time since it is my mother
tongue. I did not imagine the break would be so good," said
Joy. He plays Bhootnath, who discovers the 150-year-old diary of
the eccentric scientist who buried his invention and documented
the details in code language in his diary.
"Patal
Ghar is a search for a mysterious invention by myriad characters
- good, bad, ugly and extra-terrestrial - whose paths and agendas
criss-cross to form the backdrop of the film. Aghor Sen (Soumitra
Chatterjee), an eccentric scientist lived more than 150 years ago
in the small village of Nischintipur. While trying to invent a rat
disposal machine for his loving but nagging aunt, he accidentally
designs a device that, through the use of sound waves can put people
to sleep. This leads to all kinds of adventures and misadventures
for a medley of the most interesting characters you have met,"
says Chaudhuri. There is an alien, Vik (Biplab Chatterjee), who
is an exile from Nepcha, a planet and is seeking redemption to go
back. Kartick, a nine-year-old boy, inherits Aghor Sen’s house
in Nischintipur and events suddenly hot up since everyone is on
the trail of the ‘missing’ machine invented and hid it
under the earth. "This is a film that has something for everyone",
says Niti Gaurisaria, adding, "aliens, ghosts, action, song
and dance. There is comedy and pathos and some hard truths are revealed."
What is likely to boost the production values of the film is the
brilliant technical and aesthetic crew.
Black Magic
has assembled together Abhik Mukhopadhyay (camera), Arjun Gourisaria
(editing), Debojyoti Misra (music), Rangan Chakravarty (lyrics)
and Indranil Ghosh (art direction.) Special emphasis is on the person
who has been chosen for the make-up specially of Vik, the alien.
The person is Vikram Gaekwad, who has been specially flown in from
Pune "to trransform a human being into an alien which I found
to be very challenging", says Gaekwad, perhaps the only make-up
designer who has specialised in prosthetic make-up from London and
New York. "I have experientially specialised in make-up of
historical figures like Babasaheb Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar
Patel. I am thrilled to have been able to explore the relatively
‘alien’ experience of executing the make-up of the character
Vik as per the draft designs given to me by the director Abhijit,"
he said. "Vikram’s make-up helped me to sink into the
character much more smoothly than would have been otherwise possible,"
said Biplab Chatterjee. "The set design, the make-up and the
star-cast are excellent. There are a lot of folk notes in the songs
and there is a special song picturised on me, Astor, astor, astor,
which is great," says Mita.
-SAC
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