Director Aniket Chattopadhyay is coming up with his film Shankar Mudi in March. The film has been in the news for quite some time now. The film will be releasing on 15^th March and The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with the director in an exclusive chat about the film. Excerpts..

The film has been in the news for many reasons. Why did it take such a long time to release this film?

Aniket Chattopadhyay- Well, my job was to make the film in the best way possible and I have done that to my best ability. Our producer cannot think of doing things in a small way. Whenever he thinks of doing something, he does it in a grand way. Hence as a result, due to some logistics issue, the film’s release got delayed. But it will be releasing soon.

What was the most challenging issue when shooting the film?

Aniket Chattopadhyay- The film’s cast consists of all the leading actors of Bengali cinema. Be it Kaushik Ganguly, Saswata Chattopadhyay, Shantilal, Sreela Majumdar and others- the list is huge. This was a great thing for me to handle. So many good actors in one film are a lot to handle.

Secondly I did not want to get diverted from the topic. My topic was to showcase the story as it is. I did not want it to get diverted. So I had to keep that in mind too while I was shooting the film. Radio playing at the tea shop continuously has been shown in the film. So you see I have tried to retain the essence of those times gone by in the film. That was a challenge.

So nostalgia will be rife in the film?

Aniket Chattopadhyay- Yes, that is true. I will like to make one thing clear. The characters shown in the film was there in my locality. Some of them are still alive while some have died. Shankar Mudi is no more but the other characters are still alive. I can give you the address and you can check them out. So it is like a trip down memory lane.

In the film, it has been shown that the local grocery shop owners are been marginalized due to the growth of the retail outlets at shopping malls. Will the film be giving any solution to this crisis or just show this crisis?

Aniket Chattopadhyay- Well, the film will not give any solution but merely state the crisis to the audience. The crisis is not only about getting marginalized due to the growth of the shopping malls. It is also about the break in the social fabric of the localities where these grocery shops were located. The shop owners were there during any crisis happening in the locality. But if they are not there, it is like a breakdown in the social fabric.

A cliché but important question- what are your expectations?

Aniket Chattopadhyay- Like all my other films, I want this one to be loved and appreciated by the critics and the audiences alike. Producers do not invest money in political films but this film got a producer who has supported me and this idea. So let the audience come to the hall and decide for themselves whether they like or dislike the film.

We hope Shankar Mudi receives huge appreciation from the audience. Best of luck!!