Big B to get a taste of Bengal's royalty

That���s common between Aparna Sen���s 2013 ghost comedy, Goynar Baksho, and Ribhu Dasgupta���s upcoming TE3N? The Satmahal Kalikapur Rajbari! Soon after riding a scooter with Nawazuddin Siddiqui on the pillion on the streets of Kolkata, Amitabh Bachchan is now set to bring the 350-year-old picturesque Kalikapur Rajbari, about 65 km from Burdwan town, to life.
The superstar, along with Nawaz, will be shooting in and around the historical palace for the next few days for TE3N.Several other Bengali films have previously been shot at this rajbari, including Aparna Sen���s Goynar Baksho and Rituparno Ghosh���s Noukadubi.
After wrapping up the Kolkata leg of the shoot, filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh and his team are camping at Bolpur.
Sets have been erected beside the rajbari pond, temples and garden. Though the shoot was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, it now seems that the cameras will roll only on Wednesday.
The Satmahal Kalikapur Rajbari -built by Parameswar Roy, the dewan of the Burdwan maharaja, for his seven sons -is spread over 400 bighas.Exquisite terracotta work can be seen on the panels of the gates of the rajbari, which is surrounded by Shiva, Kali and Durga temples, apart from a pond and garden.
Lajpat Roy, the lone descendant of the Kalikapur Rajbari family, who stays there, tells CT this is not the first time that a film shooting was taking place inside the rajbari. ���Apart from Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh, legends like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Tarun Majumdar have shot here before,��� he says.
Out of the seven palaces, currently just two are fit for human habitation, while the rest are in a dilapidated state due to a lack of maintenance and restoration. ���The other members of the rajbari are settled abroad or elsewhere,��� Lajpat adds.
According to Kunal Aggarwal, SP of Burdwan, all the necessary security arrangements have been made for the shoot. ���A large number of people, mainly locals, have already started flocking the rajbari to catch a glimpse of the superstar,��� says Subhasis Banik, IC of Ausgram Police Station.
The film, which is slated to release next year, also stars Vidya Balan.