Veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, who plays the protagonist in Bengali movie 'Shukno Lanka', says the film is about the dream of a common man, a nobody whose presence is hardly acknowledged. One of the few Bengali films to be released nationally today, 'Shukno Lanka' revolves around a junior artist in Tollywood who has lived the life of obscurity for so long but suddenly all his dreams come true when an award-winning director offers him the lead role in a film.
The title of the film, which means dry red chillies in Bengali, is metaphoric to the life of the protagonist.
"'Shukno Lanka' is about the dream of a common man, its not about me. The life of a common man is just like dry red chillies which do not have a taste of their own but are used to add flavour to the dish being prepared," said Mithun.
His words are echoed in that of director
Gaurav Pandey, who says that he is inspired by the common people whom we need in our everyday life but hardly give any importance to.
"I am very inspired by the people who stay in the background and make a difference to out lives. For example, this pavement is cleaned everyday by somebody whom we dont know but we need him nevertheless," Pandey told.
The film, which has been produced by Mumbai Mantra and is releasing simultaneously in three metros-- Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, has been subtitled in English for the non-Bengali audience.
The 80-minute film also stars actress Debashree Roy as the wife of the reputed director played by Sabyasachi Chakraborty, whose Bollywood credits include films like 'Dil Se', 'Khakee' and 'Pareenita'.
The film also has Australian actress Emma Brown Garett playing an actress-turned-producer who comes to India from Germany to produce the film.
This is Brown's first Bengali film and she says the experience was exciting despite not understanding the language at all.
"I enjoyed living and working in Kolkata because I felt very comfortable working with Sabyasachi, Mithunda and Gaurav. My character, Isabella, she fits into the story very well," said the actress who has been living in India for the past two and a half years.
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