Rajorshi Dey announces next film Purba, Pashchim, Dakshin (Uttor Asbei)

Actor-director Rajorshi Dey has announced his new project Purba, Pashchim, Dakshin (Uttor Asbei), a paranormal thriller based on Avik Sarkar’s best-selling book Ebong Inquisition.

Gaurav Chakrabarty, Paran Bandopadhyay, Arpita Pal Chatterjee, Kamaleswar Mukherjee, Bidipta Chakraborty, Aryann Bhowmick and Rajesh Sharma have been cast in the film. Producer Suchandra Bhania and renowned theatre personality Rudraprasad Sengupta will also have important roles to play in the film.

The film primarily attempts to break superstitions around black magic and witchcraft. According to the director, people have generalized notions regarding the worship of Goddess Kali and the practise of Tantra in Bengal. Dey wishes to project the entire practise in a different light through the film.

"My film rationalizes the pros and cons of popular beliefs, age-old ideas, the evils of superstition and the dark side of mankind," said the director in an interview with the Times of India, a daily.

He further added, "Often on numerous channels on television, we see programmes on astrologers and Tantriks. People generally watch these kinds of programmes out of superstitions and blind faith — they don’t have clear idea about all this. I want to show the positive application and outcome of Tantra through this film."

Based on first three stories from Ebong Inquisition, the film will also explore the notions of reincarnation. Arpita Pal Chatterjee, who plays widow Stuti in the film, said, "Stuti starts suffering from a terminal disease which can be treated by a particular doctor. She coincidentally runs into that doctor during a train journey and the story unfolds from there. I play the sutradhar [narrator], who binds the three stories."

The plot of the film will progress through a train journey, gradually unfolding three stories. Dey will start shooting from December and the film will be mostly shot in Kolkata and Purulia district in West Bengal.