Srijit Mukherji to adapt Bengali classic novel Chowringhee

Popular Bengali classic Chowringhee, by Sankar, has been translated into a number of Indian as well as foreign languages. The novel will now be brought alive as a film by National Award winning Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukherji.

Mukherji, also the film's co-producer, claimed the novel made him fall in love with Kolkata and termed it as his tribute to the city and its people.

"Chowringhee is extremely close to my heart and it is one of the first things that made me fall in love with the city. I think as a fan of the classic, it is my duty to present it to today's audience," Mukherji said on Monday (29 January) during the official announcement of his entry in film production in partnership with the Shree Venkatesh Films.

Shooting for the film is set to start from April this year and would cast some of the prominent faces of Bengali cinema including prolific actor Prasenjit Chatterjee and singer-filmmaker Anjan Dutt.

Though a film based on the 1962 novel was made earlier with the likes of Bengali Matinee idol Uttam Kumar and legendary actors like Utpal Dutta and Supriya Devi, Mukherji said he is not apprehensive about viewers comparing his film with previous adaptation.

"I know a comparison might come up in the mind of the viewers while watching my film. But I am not apprehensive about it. I think Chowringhee as a story has a unique character that is remembered by people for its content more than the actors in it," he said.

He also clarified that the film would be a contemporary take on novel. "It would not be a period film. It would be based in contemporary Kolkata keeping the essence of the novel intact," he added.