Cherishing every moment of making Mandaar, says Anirban Bhattacharya

The official trailer for Mandaar (2021), the first web-series in Hoichoi’s World Classics category, was launched at a press conference at an auditorium in Kolkata yesterday.

Mandaar is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth and the web-series is led by a cast with roots in theatre, which is why the makers chose a drama hall for the trailer launch.

The entire cast and crew, including lead artistes Debasish Mondal, Sohini Sarkar and Debesh Roy Chowdhury, were present at the event.

Mandaar is a tragic tale of power, prophecies, greed, lust and betrayal set along the vast shoreline of Geilpur. The trailer has some stirring scenes introducing the characters on the backdrop of the seascape of Geilpur and promises layered performances by Sarkar as Laili, inspired by Lady Macbeth, Mondal as Mandaar aka Macbeth, and Roy Chowdhury as Dablu Bhai, based on king Duncan.

In the series, the director himself essays the character of Muqaddar Mukherjee, a police officer.

Sarkar, who has known Bhattacharya as an actor and worked with him for many years, was happy to share an artiste-director equation with him for the first time. “I am happy about not only getting to play such a powerful character as Laili, but also to see Anirban in the directorial chair for the first time," she said. "Mandaar is the kind of project that will stay in people’s minds for long.”

She added that collaborating with Hoichoi was a matter of double celebration for her as, apart from playing the lead in the OTT platform's first World Classics series, she is getting to play a part she has read about, admired and hoped to portray some day.

“It is an unparalleled moment for me to showcase the trailer of my first directorial venture, Mandaar, in such a grand manner in front of industry stalwarts and our media friends,” actor-director Bhattacharya said. “I feel grateful to my entire team and to Hoichoi for making this day so special. Right now, I am cherishing every moment of making Mandaar and looking forward to the response of people towards this passion project of mine.”

For Mondal, playing the titular character Mandaar has been nothing short of a dream come true. “It is an absolute privilege and an honour for me to mark my debut [in the digital space] with something as grand as Mandaar,” the theatre veteran said. “Overwhelmed will be an understatement to describe what I was feeling when I was offered this role by Anirban Bhattacharya and Hoichoi. I simply hope I have done justice to the character, to Mandaar, and to the vision Anirban and the team had while curating Mandaar.”

Mandaar will be premiered on Hoichoi on 19 November.