Srjit Mukherji's film Chatushkone will be screening at the upcoming Bengali film festival Abhijaan in Dubai. Courtesy Abhijaan
Srjit Mukherji's film Chatushkone will be screening at the upcoming Bengali film festival Abhijaan in Dubai. Courtesy Abhijaan

Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukherji is headed to Bollywood with big plans



Noted filmmaker Srijit Mukherji returns to the UAE for the Bengali film festival Abhijaan with his latest film Chotushkone. He pulled off a coup of sorts by casting five directors in the film. His next project marks the Bengali-­film debut of the former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen. Mukherji tells The National why he enjoys the Dubai and Abu Dhabi film festivals, and talks about his Bollywood plans.

Your first film Autograph was an official selection at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Film Festival while your second film Baishe Srabon screened at the 2011 Dubai International Film Festival. How has your UAE film scene experience been?

I think both Abu Dhabi and Dubai host some of the most vibrant film festivals. The film scene here is quite multifarious and versatile. Also, I feel very refreshed when I travel to Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

In Chotushkone, you have cast acclaimed filmmakers Goutam Ghose, Aparna Sen and Kaushik Ganguly, and actor-directors Parambrata Chatterjee and Chiranjit Chakraborty. Why choose filmmakers to act? Were you at any time intimidated by their presence?

I wanted to fuse reality and fiction. I wanted actual directors to play the role of four directors in Chotushkone. That gives additional layers to the narrative and I believe strongly in layered narratives. The question of getting overawed or intimidated didn't arise since all these people are such brilliant professionals. Being directors themselves, they know there's only one captain of the ship and that works wonders for me.

Like your past films, Chotushkone found box-office success in select theatres outside West Bengal, in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, breaking the language barrier. To what do you attribute this popularity?

I have a loyal national audience outside Bengal. Also, my films are an extension of myself. I was in Delhi for five years, in Bangalore for five years, had a short stint in Milan and I keep travelling to Mumbai so I have a cosmopolitan way of treating cinema, which is why even non-Bengalis enjoy my films. In fact, we are thinking of a Bollywood version of Chotushkone very soon. A lot of producers have shown interest.

So will we see you dabble more in Bollywood from now on?

Not just dabble, I will go full-fledged into Bollywood. I shifted from theatre to films in greed of a greater audience and this will drive me from Bengal to Bombay because I’ll have a newer, bigger audience – I want more people to see my stories.

Your next film Nirbaak, which comes out in April, marks Bollywood diva Sushmita Sen's Bengali film debut. Why did you decide to cast her?

She's got a fantastic personality. Also, there's a lot of mystery and enigma attached to her. We have so far seen only her glamorous side. Nirbaak will be out of the box and will see her play an unconventional role.

You started off working as a social scientist in Delhi, and later as an economist in Bangalore. While you were actively involved in theatre all along, what made you become a full-time filmmaker?

An inner calling, you could say. I always had the storytelling bug but it was tough pursuing it while working as an economist or social scientist. It was better to take the plunge sooner than later and I wanted to die without any regrets.

A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'My Son'

Director: Christian Carion

Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis

Rating: 2/5

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning. 
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval. 
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
 

Rashid & Rajab

Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib

Stars: Shadi Alfons,  Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab 

Two stars out of five 

Brief scores:

Manchester City 3

Aguero 1', 44', 61'

Arsenal ​​​​​1

Koscielny 11'

Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Mission%3A%20Impossible%20-%20Dead%20Reckoning%20Part%20One
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Christopher%20McQuarrie%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tom%20Cruise%2C%20Hayley%20Atwell%2C%20Pom%20Klementieff%2C%20Simon%20Pegg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who are the Soroptimists?

The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.

The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.

Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners