Shoojit turns producer, presents 90s Kol in new flick

Capturing the spirit of early 90s north Kolkata para, when mobiles and coffe shops did not intrude the mindscape of Gen Y, Madras Café Director Shloojit Sircar now teams up with popular singer-lyricist-music director-writer Anindyo Chattopadhya in Open Tee Bioscope.

“Essentially a tale of  children growing up into boys, 'Open Tee Bioscope' has the spirit of 60s classics like Dhonni Meye but is conemporary and fresh in content and style,” the Vicky Donor maker told PTI on location set of the movie here.

“When we discussed the film first, after 'Aparajita Tumi', I cited to Anindyo examples of old classics including 'Dhonni Meye' which centred on football, human emotions, traditional kolkata and its people while contemporizing it with present day tale of the adolescent,” Shoojit said.

"The classics which both we and our parents and grand parents as well as our children and the younger generation get hooked to and can’t give up watching,” he said.

Shoojit, who had made his first foray in Bengali film production in Aniruddha Roychoudhury's 'Aparajita Tumi', said “Open Tee Bioscope is obviously poles apart from the former in content, look and execution.  When I take up a film the story line has to be intriguing first. And the story of a boy growing up into a man, with first puff, crushes, stealing glance of girls of his age, taking part in para tournament, rivalry and all always fascinating if told in a fresh way,” he said.

“Also the title, which has to be catchy, smart, colloquial and we settled for this one as Anindyo also concurred the phrase was commonplace among both the young and not so young and it is not so classy or avant garde. 'Open Tee Bioscope' is a bridge between a class and mass film as I don’t believe in solely catering to a niche audience. All my flicks prove that,” the cult Vicky Donor maker said.

The film, to be extensively shot in the lanes, alleys and a prominent park in north Kolkata, where para football tourneys hold centre stage, will have autographical references of the director-producer duo, the last one still yearning for those days when he was a lanky 14-year old hired by para football clubs for local tourneys with the promise of tiffin and travel expenses and looking out for excuses to escape the prying eye of mother who insisted he stayed back home.

Shoojit, proud to hail from that era, wishes to direct a film in future essentially with the feel and look of North Kolkata which boasts of lip-smacking delicacies at modest looking, table top restaurants running for ages, unique architecture heritage mansions, roads and tram lines everything. “But whenever it happens that will be in Hindi.”

Anindyo a.k.a Ajit, the much-acclaimed sleuth accomplice of Bomkesh Bakshi in Satyaneswi, said the film was a peek into an adolescent boy’s psyche groomed in traditional milieu of a north Kolkata para where every single day calls for celebration of sorts. 

Like the cult football song in the 60s film by Manna Dey, there will be quintessential Bengali tracks on the Bengallees’ love for the game in the film with Anindyo’s band colleague and popular singer Upal turning the ‘unofficial music director.’

“Yes it could be another sport song with the spirit of our chartbuster ‘Khelechhe Sachin’ or exceed that track in every sense and themed on para football,” Anindyo, who was also involved with national award winner Antoheen,” said. The theme music is composed by Shantanu Moitra, the music director of Aparajita Tumi in which Anindyo lent his vloice among others.

“Santanu agreed the moment me and Shoojit approached,” Anindyo said.

Tracing the journey of teenage Phoara (son of celebrated Bengali actor-stage personality Kaushik Sen), Open Tee Bioscope has an ensemble cast of Roopkatha Noy, Iti Mrinalini actor Kaushik himself, critically acclaimed Sohini Sarkar of IFFI package film Phoring and Paromitar Ekdin, Aschorjo Prodeep actor Rajatabha Dutta.