Prosenjit Choudhury happy to make Din Ratrir Golpo to prove his passion for films

Prosenjit Choudhury’s upcoming film Din Ratrir Golpo (2020) is all set to hit the screens on 28 February. Featuring Supriti Choudhury, Rajatava Dutta, Pradip Mukherjee, Rukmini Chatterjee, Sourav Chatterjee and Rayati Bhattacheryee, Din Ratrir Golpo is divided into two stories. Involving elements of space fiction and death as a major theme, Din Ratrir Golpo is Choudhury’s second film, since he made his debut with Dakbaksho (2015).

At the trailer and music launch of the film on 12 February, the director, who is a doctor by profession, spoke about the film at large and also shared the struggle he faced as an independent filmmaker.

What is the story of the film all about?

In the film, a nurse called Suzane makes certain confessions on her deathbed. The confessions are stories of day and night. In the story of day, a middle-class family is informed by the members of NASA [The National Aeronautics and Space Administration] that their daughter is travelling to Mars. They are being shown  video footage of their daughter floating inside a spacecraft. The footage confuses the parents and they get anxious regarding their daughter’s fate. I have not used the spacecraft in the film deliberately. It was the requirement of the plot.

In the story of night, Rajatava Dutta plays a character obsessed with death. On a torrential rainy night, a girl takes shelter at his place and finds out the abundance of the theme of death in every corner of his house. He forbids the girl to enter a particular room at his house. The girl refutes his order and a disaster takes place. 

The film eventually tells a story of humanity, love, death and the almighty, with new content.

How have you explored the theme of death in the film?

The film looks at death as a juncture of celebration - a doorway to a new life. Having been a doctor, I have seen death from up close. The intimate moment between death and the person who is dying, is not always scary. This connects the first story of the film, which has an underlying message on humanity.

You are a doctor. How did you come into filmmaking?

I always wanted to make films, since my childhood. When I told my parents about my aspirations, I remember, they called up a meeting and concluded that I had gone insane. When I finally became a doctor, I thought of fulfilling my dreams. My debut film Dakbaksho [was shown at] many festivals and ran in the theatres for four weeks after it was released.

Tell us a bit more about the making of the film.

The most challenging aspect of making the film was doing the VFX [visual effects]. It took almost eight months to get done withit. Also, Rayati Bhattacharya, who is seen to be floating around in the spacecraft had to go through a lot of training to get used to of hanging from a harness, to create the illusion. It took seven days to shoot the entire scene.

How difficult it is for an independent filmmaker to make their films?

It is both difficult and encouraging. I had to get into many other tasks apart from donning the hat of the director. For example, I was helping in packing food for the journalists who have come for this press event before it started. Throughout the shooting we have worked as a family.

Do you have further plans for making films?

I have, but I don’t know when they will be materialised. For example, I had written the story of Din Ratrir Golpo, three years ago. Whenever I used to approach producers, all of them asked me to get rid of the element, involving the spacecraft. Eventually, I got support from my friends. It is an independent production now. I have been able to prove that with passion and love, it is possible to achieve any goal. My objective is not to do business regardless of its content but I want to make films. Thankfully, I am a doctor by profession and hence, I have been able to do the entire job for love not money.