Sagardwipey Jawker Dhan (2019) is Sayantan Ghoshal’s second release of the year after Satyanweshi Byomkesh (2019). In the film, Parambrata Chatterjee will be reprising his role of Bimal from Jawker Dhan (2017), the first film of the franchise.
Jawker Dhan was inspired from Hemendra Kumar Roy’s story with the same title. Meanwhile, Sagardwipey Jawker Dhan has been conceived and co-written by Ghoshal and Sougata Basu. The film also features Koel Mallick, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Santilal Mukherjee, Kanchan Mullick, Kaushik Sen and Rajatava Dutta in important roles.
Sagardwipey Jawker Dhan is Chatterjee’s third film with Ghoshal. He appeared as Byomkesh Bakshi for the first time with Satyanweshi Byomkesh earlier this year. In the upcoming adventure film, Chatterjee as Bimal will be seen hunting for Red Mercury, a rare chemical, which can potentially work as a substitute for fossil fuel.
The success of Jawker Dhan made way for the second instalment of the franchise. According to Chatterjee, "The success has also led Sayantan to conceive the project on a much bigger scale. There is a big ensemble cast, the visual effects are grander and the action sequences are way more thrilling too. The entire journey of hunting for Red Mercury is quite complicated and there is a lot more at stake."
He also feels that, packed with excitement, this family film will be an ideal watch in the winters, with the temperature dropping outside the theatres.
Chatterjee feels that the theme of search in the film and also the reasons behind the search will mostly appeal to the audience. Asked whether the film promotes any message with the search for a substitute for fossil fuel, the actor replied, "Of course, the film has no social propaganda. It is an entertaining and fast paced thriller. However, I feel, as artistes, we need to convey certain important messages through our works. It is true that we randomly use fossil fuel around the world, not thinking about the limited resources. In that context, if a substitute can be found, everyone will try to hunt for it. The film basically explores that search."
Chatterjee has shared screen space with Mallick in this film after four years since their last appearance with the Bengali film Highway in 2014. "She is a wonderful human being to work with. She is an extremely capable actress. I always cherish working with her. We share a very comfortable space in the floors," the actor said.
He has also directed the actress in his upcoming directorial venture Bony, which is slated for release in 2020.
For Chatterjee, working in Bengali cinema, is almost like spending quality time with friends on the floors because the industry is quite small here.
"Gaurav is like my younger brother," he elaborated. "I have seen him growing up. When I used to play Topshe, he used to accompany Sabyasachi Chakraborty on the floors. Kanchan da is my senior but we are good friends. I have done jamming sessions with Rony da (Rajatava Dutta) and I have been acquainted with Santi da [Santilal Mukherjee] from my very first day in the industry. Hence, it was an amazingly comfortable space to work with the team, as all of us were aware of each other’s work patterns. The entire experience was not merely professional rather quite enriching and enjoyable."
Some glimpses from the trailer hint to the adventure the cast got into while shooting for the film. “For example, I had never sailed on such huge waves in my life. Before riding the on boat, we did not even have any idea of the length of the waves. [The] first few hours were extremely scary; however, we gradually got accustomed to it," Chatterjee admitted.
"I am not a swimmer, however, I had to dive into the Indian ocean. Another day, our boats drifted far away into the ocean and we had to walk through the sea for almost half a kilometre to get to the boats. The entire shooting experience was quite adventurous," the actor added.
He also thanked Ghosal for making a film on such a grand scale and said, “I think we are fortunate to have producers to back such projects that can draw more people to the theatres, which is our primary goal.”
Sagardwipey Jawker Dhan (2019) is due to be released on 6 December.