Horror film buff Bonny Sengupta thrilled to be part of Bhootchakra Pvt Ltd

Bhootchakra Pvt Ltd will see actor and self-confessed horror film buff Bonny Sengupta appearing for the first time in a horror comedy.

The film, directed by Haranath Chakraborty, also stars Soham Chakraborty, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Rittika Sen and Srabanti Chatterjee.

Slated for release on 5 July, Bhootchakra Pvt Ltd also features Kaushik Sen, Paran Bandopadhyay, Sumit Samaddar, Rajat Ganguly and Santilal Mukherjee in crucial roles.

Bhootchakra Pvt Ltd features three educated but unemployed youths Amit (Soham), Bony (Bonny) and Nemo (Gaurav), who discover a bhoot jantra (ghost machine) and set up a business of hunting down ghosts.

In a conversation with Cinestaan, Bonny Sengupta recounted his experience of working in the film and the bond that was created with his co-stars. Excerpts:

Why did you choose to do this film?

Firstly, I have not done this kind of project before. Also, I was quite happy to retain my own name Bony in the film.

The most appealing aspect of the story is that it is a blend of different genres and hence there is no monotony. We have tried to stick to the flavours of each of the genres. There has been a conscious effort to maintain a balance between all the flavours by not heightening melodrama or infusing superficiality. Padma-da (writer Padmanabha Dasgupta) has written the story with a lot of finesse and there are lots of twists in it. The storyline gradually goes on revealing them.

After the first script reading, we were told there would be workshops for the film. However, we did not do any workshop. Instead we just read the script numerous times. Thus, we kind of framed the performances in our mind and when we acted Hara uncle [Haranath Chakraborty] stated that he got the spontaneity in our act the way he had expected.

Tell us something about your character.

Bony pretends to be a ladies’ man and is also a bit flirtatious. Therefore, I have tried to maintain his overenthusiastic demeanour around women throughout the film. However, it is eventually revealed that he is quite timid in nature.

How was the experience of working with Haranath Chakraborty?

Hara uncle has been acquainted with my father (Anup Sengupta) since he got married. I have heard that my father, Hara uncle and Swapan Saha were contemporaries in their careers and have been friends since. Papa had told me that there was nothing to get nervous about while working with Hara uncle; however, I still was, initially.

Then I found him to be quite a chilled-out person. He gives space to his actors. He first asks us to enact spontaneously and then instructs us whether we need to bring any change. I think he is a brilliant director and has given some of the most memorable films of Bengali cinema.

Bhootchakra Pvt Ltd deals with a completely different subject and I hope this will work for him too.

This is your first ever horror film. How was the feeling?

I love watching horror films and watch each and every horror film that comes on Netflix, without bothering about the quality of its content (laughs). Hence, it was fun to discover the process of making a horror film while working in one for the first time. Character graphics and background score play very important roles in this film. It was an enjoyable experience throughout as it is not strictly a horror film.

Any interesting memories from the shooting?

It was great to work with the team. The three of us [including Soham Chakraborty and Gaurav Chakrabarty] used to be there almost every day and Srabanti-di and Rittika would be present on the days of their shoot. We were almost thinking of buying the jute mill [where the film was shot] as we were crashing there for the most part of the day (laughs).

The location was quite far from our house and hence the schedule turned out to be quite hectic. However, our hard work will pay off when the audience enjoys the film. We almost shot the film like a picnic and had delicious food served. The film will also reflect the bond the three of us formed while shooting.

I have worked with Soham-da in Jio Pagla (2017). Also, since I come from a background of films, I had an acquaintance with him. I know Gaurav since we participated in the Calcutta Cricket League. We used to be together all the time and enjoy the afterparties together. I feel we have similar kind of vibes and hence we gelled well instantly. We did not have any problems regarding our parts in the film and all wanted to give it our best.

Was it different working with Rittika in this film?

Every time I work with her, I get to know her afresh. She is doing a lot of work these days and I am quite happy for her. All I can say is that the chemistry this time has a different flavour from all the other films in which we have acted.