Bengali feature selected for ‘Goes to Cannes’

For young creative people wanting to don the director's hat, work has never been easy. But the final result of hard work - whether audience and critic appreciation or recognition in terms of awards - has always encouraged the strenuous journey behind. It was no different for Prasun Chatterjee who set out to make a 110-minutes long full-length feature, named Dostojee (international title - Two Friends), in Bengali. The film has now been chosen as one of the 20 projects of Marche du Film's selection for Goes to Cannes section this year.
"Born and brought up in a cosmopolitan city like Kolkata, I have spent almost 12 years of my life in the remote villages of West Bengal, adjacent to India-Bangladesh border. Throughout this journey, I have deeply felt that the fine threads of our social fabric are being destroyed bit by bit by discriminatory politics. Religious identity of a human being is turning out to be his sole identity. Our story tries to capture this very narrative through the innocent eyes of two little boys. In these tough times, our only hope is to try and be “humans” first," said Prasun.
A lot of research went into the making of the film. When the director was literally knocking every producer's door, it was Soumya Mukhopadhyay and Patralika Mukherjee's help for providing all technical support that saw him through. He even remembers crowdfunding, which didn't help much. Feeling dejected, he made a short film first to woo producers but to no avail. The film went on to be made with such minute details later that for each season captured on camera, they shot once during that season and next year recorded the sound during the same season.
"I have been to Murshidabad before but shooting for a film there and adopting to the lives and culture of the people have been a different experience. I tried to learn their Bangla, the dialect, their way of dressing, habit of eating and how they generally lead their lives. I kept my eyebrows unkempt, oiled my hair and looked the part by observing the people around. There was no hairdresser. Establishing a bond with my onscreen son was also important," said actress Jayati Chakraborty, who plays the onscreen eight-year-old boy, Palash's mother.
Prasun also shared that most of the characters, barring a few theatre artistes from Kolkata, are natives of the villages where he shot. The two young protagonists are also from the villages and non-actors. So, it's a greater treat for the team to reach the prestigious platform.
"The year 2020 has been so devastating that this news came like a beacon of hope. At one point, I couldn't believe such a thing has happened," said an excited Swatilekha Kundu, who plays the elder sister of the onscreen protagonist, Safikul.