Sukumar Ray's work in a 3D film

For lovers of Sukumar Ray and his nonsense works, here's some good news on All Fools' Day. Director Amit Sen, who made his mark with the comedy 'Notobor Not Out', is planning to turn the Ray classic HaJaBaRaLa into a 3D film ' making it Tollywood's first movie to use the technology that's taken filmmaking by storm across the globe.
Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, with which HaJaBaRaLa has striking similarities, has already been turned into a 3D film by Tim Burton.
Ask Amit about the idea and he says, 'I am an ardent Sukumar Ray fan and have been toying with this idea for quite a few years. This novella was written decades ago and there are no copyright issues. Goutam Kundu will produce this movie and he deserves all the credit for having agreed to back such a difficult project. If necessary, he will have a word with the Ray family on this movie. I will be off to Mumbai soon for pre-production work.'
Considering that this will be Bengal's first 3D film, how is he going ahead with the work? 'First we will go in for clay animation. Since this will be a stereographic process (3D), a lot of research and development will be involved. I will have to zero in on theatre artistes to finalize the dubbing line-up so that the storyboarding process can begin. Then, I will go for the main casting,' Sen adds.
The recent success of 'Bhooter Bhobisyot' has spurred him on to try his hand at HaJaBaRaLa, which combines elements of the fantastic and the comic.
The story begins with a boy waking up and finding that his handkerchief has turned into a cat. The boy then talks to the cat, who tells him to find Kakeshwar Kuchkuche in a series of calculations that eventually tells him that he is in a tree. Many other characters such as Hijibijbij appear, adding to the confusion. Finally, the boy wakes up from his odd dream and finds the cat. Now, laugh out loud in 3D.
Apart from the challenges of 3D, Amit will also have to address the fact that the original storyline doesn't have any crises or resolutions. 'It's a big challenge that I will have to negotiate. I might include some portions from Abol Tabol as well. Today's children are fed on a diet of Harry Potter and cartoons. But if you can give them such interesting stuff, I am certain they will lap it up. That's what happens when children go to watch Satyajit Ray or Sandip Ray's Feluda movies when their parents take them along because of Feluda's nostalgic pull. As far as HJBRL is concerned, it has a global appeal because of the way it handles nonsense. The idiom could be very Bengali. A phrase like 'Udor pindi Budhor ghare' might be rooted in Bengal but it has a larger perspective. Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska had featured in a 3D adaptation of 'Alice in Wonderland' in Hollywood. I would be glad if my film, in its own way, can be India's answer to the genre of nonsense movies,' says the director.