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Subhashree to make OTT debut with Debaloy's 'Indubala Bhaater Hotel'

Subhashree to make OTT debut with Debaloys Indubala Bhaater Hotel
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For director Debaloy Bhattacharya, it is a challenge to turn 'Indubala Bhaater Hotel', the second novel by author Kallol Lahiri, into a web series. But the 'Montu Pilot' director was fascinated by the beautiful narrative of the novel, which talks about the love for food, the suffering of Partition and memories of Bangladesh and of a woman who comes to Kolkata from opar Bangla after marriage. He also knew he needed a strong protagonist to do justice to the role. Then Subhashree Ganguly entered the OTT space with Hoichoi's 'Indubala Bhaater Hotel'.

The 'Dracula Sir' director said Subhashree has the 'grace, subtlety and elegance of Indubala, which is much needed to portray the character'.

"Subhashree has the intensity and range of emotions of Indubala," said Bhattacharya, the director of hit Bengali web series like 'Montu Pilot', 'Charitraheen', 'Dupur Thakurpo' and 'Holy Faak'.

'Indubala Bhaater Hotel' tells the story of Indu, a young girl from East Pakistan's Kalpota village in Khulna. Married to a drunkard in Kolkata, Indu becomes a widow with an infant at a tender age. Her story takes a turn the day East Pakistan becomes Bangladesh. With help of the meagre savings, she starts 'Indubala Bhaater Hotel' also known as a pice hotel.

Bhattacharya admitted that structurally, it was a challenging task to turn it into a series, but then, he found the novel indulging.

" 'Indubala Bhaater Hotel' is indulgent, melancholic and emotional, without being scornfully dramatic. It deals with memory - a constant preoccupation I share," said Bhattacharya, who starts shooting for the series at the end of August in Kolkata.

Subhashree is also excited about her debut web series.

"The character is extremely layered and that's a challenge. Indubala is complex, inspirational and powerful and I am a tad bit nervous but also extremely excited to play it," she said.

Meanwhile, Bhattacharya is gearing up for his first Hindi web series 'P.I. Meena' starring Tanya Maniktala, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Jisshu Sengupta on 'Amazon Prime Video' soon. Then, he also has a film with Jisshu.

With so many Bengali talents working on the web nationally, ask Bhattacharya if regional artistes are getting better exposure thanks to the national OTT boom. His answer might worry many in Tollywood.

"This should be also taken as a threat for our own good. If our regional space can't provide us with space and scope, it's evident that talents will drift away. I think it will also help us to take our talents a bit more seriously and with more respect," he smiled.

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