'Sonika believed Vikram was sober'

KOLKATA: Filmmaker Arka Ganguly, who had directed Vikram Chatterjee in his debut film `Khonj', fe els drink dri ving should be an offence irre spective of whether it le ads to an accident or not.“My standpoint is neutral and I can't say if he had consumed alcohol or not. There were some 20-25 people partying that night. At least, 15 of them drove a car and returned home. If the issue is our concern over drink driving, they should also be questioned,“ he said.
According to Ganguly , many others had probably offered Sonika a lift that night.“But Sonika chose Vikram. Being a mature and responsible girl, she must have believed that Vikram was the most sober in the lot and hence wanted him to drop her home. If Vikram was sloshed, she wouldn't have gone in his car. People are comparing Kalikaprasad's driver and Vikram. Mind you, Kalikaprasad's driver was on duty . In Sonika's case, it was a mutually agreed decision,“ he said.
According to Ganguly , both Sonika and Vikram's phones were in the car when they were rushed to the hospital. “He could recall two numbers from his memory . One was of his father. Unfortunately , that night uncle's phone was switched off.The other was that of his childhood buddy Pritam. When I reached the hospital, I found a cop standing with a blood-stained phone. The cop wanted to unlock the pattern and was seeking actress Solanki Roy's help. But none of us knew how to do that. We waited for someone to call up on Sonika's phone so that they could inform her family .“
On being asked why Ganguly never informed Sonika's friends and family , he said, “We tried calling up actor Anindya Chatterjee at least 20 times over. But he didn't respond. I don't personally know Shaheb Bhattacharjee. So, I didn't think about informing him.Besides, I didn't have his number.“