Filming Cactus was a struggle for independent filmmaker Aneek Chaudhuri

Independent filmmaker Aneek Chaudhuri is all eager to stir things up with his next, Cactus. But it’s the lack of support for such independent ventures that makes him sad. The film, which stars a leading lady as Jesus Christ, has received lukewarm response from producers. “It is common in Kolkata to find people who only pretend to support you. I had two producers initially.However, both of them backed out,” said Aneek, adding, “It is a silent film and is also the official selection in Reaktor Film Festival of Vienna to be screened as the closing film.”
Even though the festival rounds have done the film good, was it difficult to get actors on board given the choice of subject? “I would say no. Aparajita Dey from NSD and Anurupa Chakraborty are now playing the central characters. Amrita Chattopadhyay was my first choice and she had said yes but due to unavoidable circumstances we couldn’t work together,” said Aneek, adding, “Aparajita is a part of The Sky is Pink starring Priyanka Chopra and Anurupa is my personal favourite. She is a terrific performer in theatre but did not get ample opportunity to explore her talent. Aparajita is playing the female version of Jesus while Aishani De and Anurupa are playing Mother Mary from two eras.”
Exciting as it sounds, the film will question certain beliefs for sure but does the director see the lack of mainstream support as a means to do more justice to the characters and his role? Isn’t the fact that he will not be star struck a plus? “Being an independent maker, I have the option of working more for the sake of aesthetics. I left my corporate job in Delhi and settled down in Kolkata in 2016. In these three years, I made three feature films with high financial constraints. However, all of them were appreciated, said Aneek, adding, “It is common to have producers back out or to be queuing up for them. In Kolkata, people tend to delay things and ego matters the most. Even when I settled down here, people would also ring up media houses spreading rumours about me. People tend to not understand the importance of good cinema at times.”