Exclusive! Srijit Mukherji on X=Prem: Arjun Chakrabarty is one of the most promising stars in the industry right now

Srijit Mukherji’s X=Prem, a futuristic love story that features a host of young actors including Arjun Chakrabarty, is set to hit the theatres on June 3. Meanwhile, his highly anticipated Feluda series – Feludar Goyendagiri will drop on Hoichoi with Darjeeling Jomjomat on June 17. As a result, the filmmaker is neck-deep in promotions and has little time to spare. X=Prem stars Arjun Chakrabarty, Madhurima Basak, Anindya Sengupta, Shruti Das and others. In a quick chat with OTTPlay, the director reveals his favourite love stories, his experience of working with the new actors and more.  

Excerpts:

Why did you choose a love story?

I have always enjoyed making films of mixed genres. There has always been a backstory or subplot of love in my thrillers. In films like Nirbak or Hemlock Society, love stories go hand-in-hand with psychological twists. X=Prem is a romantic drama that explores psychological space. There are science fiction elements to it as well.  

This is your first work with Arjun. How was your experience?

He is one of the most competent of the current crop of actors. I have seen his work extensively. I liked his work in Byomkesh, Love Aaj Kal Porshu and so on. I find him to be one of the most promising stars in the industry and loved working with him.  

You also worked with a bunch of young actors in the film…

Yes. I got a lot of ideas, new approaches and a whole lot of freshness. The story is about them and it goes very well with the youth. This was an appropriate cast. No actor has any baggage and that helped.   

Saptak Sanai, the composer of the film, is also a new kid on the block. What was your brief to him?

There was no brief. I picked his songs after they were made and then tailor-made them for the film. That’s what I did with Anupam Roy in 2010. Free-spirited compositions and lyrics work better for certain films and X=Prem is one of those films. Fresh sounding music meets a host of fresh actors and actresses and it is working very well. All songs are well accepted and topping the charts.   

X=Prem will be released during a time when a lot of people are going back to the theatres for Aparajito and Belashuru. There are Habji Gabji and several other releases too. Will this help your film or just increase the competition?

Both. There are big releases like Prithviraj, Vikram and Major. In Bengal, we have Habji Gabji. Hence, there is less number of shows and there is competition. But the good thing is, people are going back to theatres, especially for Bengali movies. When Kakababur Protyaborton was released, there was a 70% occupancy cap in theatres. Finally, the floodgate has opened and this volume will help.