"Ashchorjyo Prodeep" is the story of an ordinary man who stumbles on a magical lamp and the comic events that follow, Anik said.
"It is a modern allegorical tale, but one can take the story either as a simple fairy tale or a layered narrative with references to modern consumerist trends."
The adman-turned filmmaker said it would be the prerogative of the viewers to interpret the film as a commentary on how men get detached from the simple pleasures of life.
"Or, alternately one may just enjoy it as a tale of Aladin in his modern avatar and the genie," he said.
The movie is loosely based on eminent Bengali writer Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay's eponymous fantasy short story.
"Here the genie, the lamp, the fantasy elements and the quintessential 'chai Shop' in a Kolkata 'para' are all referred together or put side by side.
"Saswata Chatterjee's character is an everyday salesman, one we encounter everyday and don't feel like recollecting any more once he turns his back. The ordinary man becomes an important element in modern day consumerism in my work who peddles products and dreams to the consumers," Dutta, who spent years as an adman, said. MORE
