Churni Ganguly after Nirbashito has proved her mettle as a director. She is back again with a film revolving around social media titled Tarikh. The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with the talented director in an exclusive chat about the film. Excerpts…

Social media has become so important in our lives. How did you come up with the idea of making a film on this topic?
Churni Ganguly- Social media has become indispensable in our daily lives in recent times. We have a persona in the virtual world. We share pictures, take time out to celebrate birthdays and so on. Many misunderstandings happen on social media while many misunderstandings are cleared due to social media. It is after observing such incidents and also personally experiencing some of them, that I came up with the idea of this film.

A person may be dead but if you go to their social media account, you will feel as if the person is not dead at all. He/she is still alive. If one checks the social media posts of a person, we get a timeline of that person’s activities. Hence the sub-title of my film is Tarikh- A Timeline.

Are you active on social media?
Churni Ganguly- I am not so active on social media. However recently, I am trying to be active on social media to promote my film. I am writing something for the film. However due to my less active status on social media, I missed out on many things too. It happened a few years ago that a friend of mine sent me a request. However I was not active on social media and hence I could not accept her request. Later when I saw the message, she had died a few days ago. I remembered her but she will never know that. Her husband still tags her in pictures and posts. In that way, she is still alive on social media. Social media in a way makes you immortal.

You have worked with Raima and Saswata Chatterjee before. How was the experience of working with them again?
Churni Ganguly- I am in love with my actors. My actors after working in my film go on to act in other films. But I edit their scenes and pick the best ones. It is through this process that I get to see their best acting and I fall in love with them again and again. They are my support system and they help me to make the film. Similarly the audience and the media are also my support system too.

You have directed Kaushik Ganguly in the film. How was the experience?
Churni Ganguly- I have directed him before too. I have made him do things that are beyond his comfort level. But what I have learnt about him is that after lunch he feels a bit sleepy and you cannot make him act then. So the next time I take him in a film, I will ensure there are no scenes post lunch.

How important will Tarikh be as a film?
Churni Ganguly- Tarikh will be an important film. The film will be an entertaining film for the audience who will be able to enjoy the film with their family or loved ones. The film is releasing on 12th April prior to Poila Boisakh. It will be a good film for the people to watch for sure!!

All the best, Team Tarikh!!