Michael, now as a butcher

His bond with Kolkata seems to be going from strength to strength. Having shot for Ribhu Dasgupta���������s ���������Michael��������� that went on to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Naseeruddin Shah is all set for a date with the city, yet again.
This time around for Judhajit Sarkar���������s Bengali film, ���������Khashi Katha��������� ��������� literally, the tale of a castrated goat.
Judhajit, who is busy making the first of three films, explains how he has been toying with some zany ideas. ���������I wanted to make a film on a singer���������s pet monkey and how he starts imagining that his pet too has learnt to croon. The second idea was about a buffalo that falls off a two-storey building and kills a poet, leaving his wife to seek government help. Everyone who heard these stories thought I was crazy. We���������ve become so used to conventional ideas and storylines. Which is why a film like ���������Gandu��������� is important. I won���������t say my film is very radical or extreme, but I wanted to stir the imagination of the audience,��������� he says.
The story that the director finally
zeroed in on is no less striking. ���������Khashi Katha��������� starts with a goat about to be slaughtered. It pleads with the butcher (Naseeruddin) for freedom. The goat promises to tell a tale in return. ���������The story the goat narrates ��������� it���������s got an Arabian Nights feel to it ��������� is what the film is all about.��������� The principal characters are a brother and sister, both of them boxers. Despite being a good boxer, the brother doesn���������t succeed in life, while his sister, an ordinary Muslim girl, emerges a champion. Apart from Naseeruddin, the cast includes Silajit, Mir, Biswanath Basu, Subhashish Mukherjee, Anindya Banerjee, Prasun Guin and Damini Mukherjee, among others. Talks are also on with Roopa Ganguly. About working with a fresh cast, the director says, ���������I wanted to avoid a glomorous cast. TV channels have reduced actors to a nine-to-nine job and I wanted fresh faces. But that may have been asking for too much. I���������ve taken people with some TV experience.���������
Prasun, who is playing the boxer in the film, says he is trying his best to pack a punch. ���������There���������s a boxing club near Rashbehari I am visiting to get into character. Since I���������ve been associated with gymnastics for long, I���������m not finding it too difficult. My character, Parvez, takes up boxing only to get a job in the Railways,��������� he says. About working with Naseeruddin, the actor adds, ���������He is my screen idol. I���������ve grown up watching and admiring him. I���������m not worried about my performance, though there���������s fear of coming face to face with the actor. This is a major role for me and I hope to share screen space with Naseer saab.��������� Equally excited is Anindya, who is playing a local goon ��������� Chikna. ���������Even if he makes the boxer ditch the straight path of earning money, he is extremely protective about him. The multiple layers of the character have got me hooked,��������� he says.
���������Khashi Katha��������� will be shot in and around Kolkata. This is also the first time that CGI will be extensively used in a Bengali film. ���������We���������ll be shooting with a live goat, making it talk through CGI,��������� said Judhajit. DoP of the film is Surjodeep Ghosh. Workshops for the film will begin in the next couple of days, while the camera will start rolling on December 8. But you���������ll have to wait a little more for a date with Naseer as the star will be coming down in January.