Satyajit Ray's popular short story Master Anshuman will now be adapted for the big screen by a young director and shooting will start from next month. Sagnik Chatterjee, the director of 2019 documentary 'Feluda:50 years of Ray's Detective', is helming the feature film after nursing the ambition for 18 years.
Chatterjee told PTI Ray's filmmaker son Sandip had always been supportive of his wish.
Recalling how he was intrigued by the story of Master Anshuman in 1986-87 when he was a school student, Chatterjee said years later when he became associated with the Bombaiyer Bombete project of Sandip Ray in the studio of Hyderabad where he was working then, he inquired what Sandip felt about the film potential of Master Anshuman.
As Sandip Ray himself said the story could indeed be made a good film but this being a tale of child-adult relationship he won't make it a movie. Chatterjee then expressed his wish to adapt it for his first feature film and Sandip sounded favourable to the idea having seen Chatterjee from close readily keeping the right aside for Chatterjee.
Letting know the amount of space and freedom he got from the Ray family, Chatterjee said 'while Babuda (as Sandip is called) did not want to see the script saying there are so much technical details. He said he would finally see the rush.' 'Lolita boudi (Lolita Roy, daughter-in-law of Satyajit Ray) is seeing the costume part,' he added.
Chatterjee said the ethos of the story is retained and only set in the contemporary times.
Chatterjee, who is making the film with the support of some friends after the whole process was delayed by one year due to COVID-19 and lockdown after announcing in early 2019, intends to wrap up the shoots within a month's time after starting in April, and release it by this year.
'Yes, definitely it is a tribute to the icon Satyajit Ray who had inspired filmmakers like us. But on a personal note, I will mark both my documentary and upcoming feature as a tribute to Sandip Ray. Working with him side by side for several years had enriched me a lot, shaped up my experience.
But I have followed my own individual style of film making,' Chatterjee said.
The film has several known and some new faces of film industry in its cast.
NSD graduate Ravi Keemu, critically acclaimed actor Priyanka Upendra Trivedi and known character actor Rajatava Dutta, child actor Samantak Dyuti Moitra are among the important names in the cast.
