Taking forward the fantasy journey of Rupkatha Noy, which chronicled human emotions, national award winner Atanu Ghosh now recapures the sepia-tinted 80s, the era marked by telegram, evening power cuts and last phase of Uttam Kumar's acting career.
"In Abby Sen I have sought to visit the 80s from the perspective of the 2013. We miss scribbling 'Sricharanesshu Jethima' at the top of the inland letter after Bijoya Dashomi, we somehow miss the naive dhoti or pleated trouser-clad Bengali Bhadrolok of those days who is curious to see how a train cruises underground and if the whole tunnel would not cave in," Atanu told PTI.
"The film, which recaptures the last journey of the reigning matinee idol and the sight of red-eyed home-makers queuing in the terrace, the on-field exploits of Mohun Bagan striker Sukumar Samajpati is not, however, solely about some typical iconic symbols of 80s' Bengaliness, it also shows the futility of wish in every human mind, to yearn for the by-gone which remains uncontented as you discover every nostalgia tinted with golden glow fades out if the virtual turns into the real," Atanu said.
"Abby Sen can't therefore be described as the 'Ichhe Puron' (wish fulfillment) of the on-screen characters of Abir (Chatterjee), Raima (Sen), Priyanka (Banerjee of Hemlock Society fame) and actor-turned minister Bratya Basu, Subhasis (Mukherjee). It tries to analyse the tech-savvy yet restive 2013-14 by juxtaposing it with the more spartan 80s which had also gone through turbulence due to unemployment and joblessness, flight of capital," the director of un-released Ek Phali Roddur, starring the thespian, said.
"The journey backward may not always be an experience to cherish forever. My taking up science fantasy as a medium this time may be construed as my association with Isaac Asimov and H G Wells' works, or the timeless stories of Professor Shonku by Satyajit Ray, but Abby Sen is an extension of the journey of Rupkatha Noy at another level where reality is preceded by fantasy. How human selves react if they can really go backward. If it compound matters. It is an emotional journey with comedy where science fiction just acts as the medium," Atanu said.
On casting Raima, as a singer of that era, clad in typical cotton robes, Atanu said, "She said this is a whole new format, in expressions, dialect and everything."
"Raima is particular about not uttering contemporary English or Banglish/Hinglish expressions. Somewhere in the script she instinctively uses the phrase girlfriend but then she corrects herself and said 'Ohh that has to be bandhobi.' She is that serious."
Produced by Friends Communication, after the festival-feted Rupkatha Noy starring Soumitra Chatterjee and Radhika Apte, Abby Sen shoot will be over by this month.
