This story is from May 12, 2009

Abhijit's Take Two

Director Abhijit Chaudhuri, who is shooting the Soha Ali Khan and Shiney Ahuja-starrer 'Accident', wishes he had made his debut film in Hindi too!
Abhijit's Take Two
His first film, Patalghar, bagged two National Awards and missed the third by a whisker. Well-wishers said the awards would bring projects in their wake.
Unfortunately, nothing of the sort happened. After eight years, adman-turned-director Abhijit Chaudhuri is working on his second film, Accident. This time around, it���������������������������s in Hindi.
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Having completed two-thirds of shooting Accident in Goa with Shiney Ahuja and Soha Ali Khan, Chaudhuri is still unable to give a reference to any Hindi film that comes close to what he is attempting in Accident. With the plot kept strictly under wraps, it has left many wondering if Chaudhuri is indeed attempting something that Hindi film audiences haven���������������������������t seen yet.
Arindam Mitra, who has written the film, describes Accident as a venture in the same genre as the Polanski trilogy. ���������������������������Accident would be in the same school as Stanley Kubrick���������������������������s The Shining or Roman Polanski���������������������������s The Tenant,��������������������������� Mitra says.
Not willing to reveal details, Pritish Nandy says, ���������������������������It���������������������������s a supernatural film told in broad daylight. It���������������������������s being shot by legendary cinematographer Angus Hudson. Three National Award-winning technicians are on board. It���������������������������s full of
surprises. That���������������������������s its magic.���������������������������
���������������������������My film is about an urban couple who return from the Silicon Valley to India,��������������������������� says the director, insisting that the protagonists��������������������������� decision has nothing to do with the meltdown. ���������������������������Several friends of mine, including a doctor who

delivered one of Princess Diana���������������������������s sons, returned to India after years of successful stay abroad. It���������������������������s a story of how the two characters overcome several crisis points in their lives,��������������������������� he says.
Even while Accident is being made in Hindi, Chaudhuri wishes that he had made Patalghar in the same language as well. ���������������������������I still consider it to be an emotional adventure for me, though I wouldn���������������������������t have made it in such a maverick fashion if I directed Patalghar now. There isn���������������������������t any national publicity for Bengali films.
Even though Bengal literally sweeps the National Awards every year, how many of us in Mumbai get to watch those films? By contrast, a film by Madhur Bhandarkar, which wins National Awards, also gets pan-national visibility. Had Patalghar released in Hindi (I wouldn���������������������������t have wanted to dub it), there would have been greater chances of the rest of India knowing about the literary genius of Sirshenduda. I would have got a more saleable cast too,��������������������������� Chaudhuri says.
The cast of Accident has been decided on the basis of the characters��������������������������� requirements. ���������������������������I was lucky that I could think of stars to play the roles of the couple. My film also has Juhi Chawla, Rahul Dev and actors from television and the ad world,��������������������������� the director reveals. Soha, who is currently in London, sports a new look in this film. ���������������������������We���������������������������ve changed her hairstyle. Since she has other assignments, I couldn���������������������������t ask her to chop her hair. This wig suits her fine. Soha is a director���������������������������s actor, very sharp and professional,��������������������������� he says.
Soha, of course, has a difficult role to play. ���������������������������Things start going wrong for Soha when they start living in an isolated bungalow. She has to overcome certain crises in her life when boundaries between reality and hallucination get blurred,��������������������������� Mitra adds.
And what about the supposed crises in Soha���������������������������s life while shooting, when both Siddharth and Kunal Khemu reportedly came to meet her on the sets? But Chaudhuri is not paying any heed to gossip: ���������������������������I���������������������������m a pretty
insular person. As long as my actors deliver, I don���������������������������t care about what they do after shooting. The news of my actor���������������������������s visitors is as unimportant to me as a Malaysian woman delivering triplets!���������������������������
Point noted, but wonder if he has the same apathy towards returning to his Kolkata roots. What���������������������������s his advice to those who���������������������������ve left Kolkata in search of greener pastures in Mumbai? Chaudhuri, however, isn���������������������������t advocating return-to-the-roots in this context. At least, not for admen. As he concludes the conversation, he says, ���������������������������I can���������������������������t advise film-makers, since I get to watch very few Bengali films. But in terms of ads, Kolkata hardly offers any scope now. We realized it long back, and hence, moved to Mumbai.���������������������������
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