Artistes from the Bengali film industry have come together to make a short film, similar to Sony Entertainment Television’s Family featuring well-known faces from the Indian film industry, to promote physical distancing during the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus disease) crisis.
Titled Akdin Jhor Theme Jabey, the short film has been conceived by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Actor-filmmaker Arindam Sil will direct the film featuring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Paran Bandopadhyay, Parambrata Chatterjee, Abir Chatterjee, Raj Chakraborty, Koel Mallick, Rukmini Maitra, Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty.
The script has been written jointly by Padmanabha Dasgupta and Sil, while the music has been composed by Bickram Ghosh.
In Family, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh, Mammootty, Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar, Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Prosenjit, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Alia Bhatt were seen delivering their dialogues in synchronization with the others from the safe confines of their respective homes. The frame structure has been designed to make the film look as if all artistes have acted together in it. Sil’s interview with Sangbad Pratidin, a Bengali daily, suggests a similar structure for Akdin Jhor Theme Jabey.
Sil and Dagupta took two days to finalize the script. “I have been working for the last 30 years in the industry but haven’t had such an experience before," the filmmaker said. "After finalizing the script, I sketched out all the frames, dialogues, positions, gestures and shot divisions for each actor and then sent them the entire layout.”
While Bandopadhyay has already sent in his clip, Sil has rehearsed with Jahan and Chakraborty on video-conference calls. He is getting clips from all the artistes and asking for retakes if required. “I am grateful to all of them. The current situation is quite worrying, but we belong to the entertainment industry and hence we are trying our best to offer something to the audience and make the most of the situation,” Sil added.
The funds collected from this short film will be donated to the technicians of the Bengali film industry.