MillenniumPost
Features

Write my screenplay after finalising the cast: Kaushik Ganguly

Write my screenplay after finalising the cast: Kaushik Ganguly
X

Director Kaushik Ganguly pens his screenplay after he finalises the cast. The same happened in the case of his upcoming Bengali film, ‘Ardhangini’, which stars Churni Ganguly, Jaya Ahsan and Kaushik Sen. Ganguly has worked with Ahsan in ‘Bishorjon’ and ‘Bijoya’. When it comes to his wife, actress Churni, the director has teamed up with her on several projects. Calling both ‘extremely powerful actors’, Ganguly said he couldn’t think of anyone but them when he decided on the story, which explores two women’s positions in a man’s life.

“When I thought of this story, Jaya and Churni’s names immediately came to mind. Jaya has done two films with me. She is extremely talented. And we all know Churni as a powerhouse performer. I knew if I could have them in ‘Ardhangini’, the chemistry and narrative of the story would be different,” said Ganguly, who worked with both Sen and Churni in his last outing, ‘Kaber Antardhan’.

In ‘Ardhangini’, Sen’s character is in a coma. This brings together his ex-wife (Churni) and present wife (Ahsan). However, Ganguly mentioned that his film is not a ‘love triangle’.

“Jaya plays a Bangladeshi in the film, so I didn’t think of any actor apart from her in the role. I write my screenplay after the casting,” said the National Award-winning director.

With two powerhouse performers in a film, did he have to worry about equal screen space? To this, pat came his response. “Ever since I started making films, this has never crossed my mind. Since I am also an actor, I ensure every character in my film has significance. So, from Churni, Jaya, Kaushik, Lily Chakraborty and Ambarish Bhattacharya, every character in ‘Ardhangini’ is relevant,” said the ‘Lokkhi Chele’ director.

Apart from being an acclaimed director, Ganguly is known for his superior acting prowess. In the past few months, audiences have enjoyed his acting performances in several projects like ‘Bismillah’, ‘Kothamrito’, ‘Shubho Bijoya’, the web series ‘Shikarpur’ and ‘Kaberi Antardhan’. He is also seen playing a politician in the web series ‘Rajneeti’, which is currently streaming on ‘Hoichoi’.

“A lot of acting offers keep coming my way and in the last year, I have been part of several web series and films. I decided not to be too selective. Due to COVID-19, a lot of my completed projects, like ‘Lokkhi Chele’, ‘Kaberi Antardhan’, ‘Ardhangini’ and ‘Palan’ had piled up. So, I decided not to direct for a year and clear the backlog of films. This year, ‘Palan’ might come in September and I will direct two films. Then, again, I will take some time off from direction and concentrate on acting,” he said.

Come June, the director will start shooting his new satire ‘Ashuk Bishuk’ with Sayani Gupta, Parambrata Chatterjee, Ishaa Saha and Ankush. Interestingly, ‘Four More Shots Please’ actor Sayani is venturing into Bengali cinema with ‘Ashuk Bishuk’. Srijib and Ganguly’s son Ujaan have written the dialogue and screenplay for the film.

Next Story
Share it