Earthiness, spirit of 'two Bengal' should be captured in films: B'deshi director at KIFF

Bangladeshi director Shabnam Ferdousi, whose Ajob Karkhana Song of the soul is the sole representation from her country at the ongoing 27th Kolkata International Film Festival KIFF, said there was an immediate need to capture the earthiness and spirit of two Bengal in the movies made, eschewing all influences of the West.Addressing a press meet on Friday, the filmmaker, who has helmed over 30 documentaries, she had been inspired by the craft of directors like Buddhadev Dasgupta and Goutam Ghosh, the innate lyricism in their works.One of my five most favourite films is Charachar, made by Buddhadev da.

Bangladeshi director Shabnam Ferdousi, whose 'Ajob Karkhana (Song of the soul)' is the sole representation from her country at the ongoing 27th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), said there was an immediate need to capture the earthiness and spirit of ''two Bengal'' in the movies made, eschewing all influences of the West.

Addressing a press meet on Friday, the filmmaker, who has helmed over 30 documentaries, she had been inspired by the craft of directors like Buddhadev Dasgupta and Goutam Ghosh, the ''innate lyricism'' in their works.

''One of my five most favourite films is 'Charachar', made by Buddhadev da. I want to capture his idiom of film making in my work.

''There is also a need to capture the earthiness, smell and spirit of the two Bengal in the films that are made in both the countries, steering clear of western influences.'' 'Ajob Karkhana', which was feted in the recently held international film festival of Dhaka, is Ferdousi’s first feature film. It has popular Bengali film actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee in the role of a rock star along with other Bangladeshi actors.

Calling for greater collaboration of filmmakers from the two countries, she recounted that 'Sankhachil' by Goutam Ghosh, an Indo-Bangla joint production, had received rave reviews in Bangladesh.

Asked if art house films and mainstream cinema have separate sets of audiences, Ferdousi said, ''Yes, there is that gap. However, there are also narratives connecting all types of cinephiles. Hopefully, 'Ajob Karkhana' will also be able to bridge that gap.'' 'Ajob Karkhana' tells the story of rock star Rajeeb Hasan, who is confronted by a village artiste during a rural concert. The film was largely edited in the studios of Kolkata.

Talking about Chatterjee, who plays the lead in her film, Ferdousi said, ''He is quite popular in Bangladesh. Audiences know him through his films and web series.'' ''Parambrata quickly got into the skin of the character and looked every bit of the rockstar. He really worked hard on perfecting the accent. I ensured he got it right,'' Ferdousi, who had won the Bangladesh national award for best documentary film in 2016, added.