Exclusive! Kaushik Ganguly on Lokkhi Chele: Boycott superstitions, not films

National Award-winning director Kaushik Ganguly completed Lokkhi Chele in 2020. However, it is the pandemic that postponed the film in which he directed his son Ujaan Ganguly as a lead for the first time. In a chat, the director talked about the film, working with Ujaan and a lot more.

You made this film two and a half years ago. Do you think the film is still relevant?

I am very happy that the release got postponed and now the relevance of the film is at least 10 times more than before. I will only say this much.

(After a pause) Superstitions and blind faiths are like two old and dangerous devils in our lives. No religion or human being likes them but they survived for centuries. These are the two most unwanted perils that harm our society. They still exist and hence the film is relevant. Also, a love story or a film that deals with social problems can hardly be outdated. Technology and presentation can be outdated, not the film. If you tell an old story it can be a period piece but never outdated. That’s why a film like Gandhi is still relevant and people watch it.

After Bollywood, two films in Bengal – Dharmajuddha and Bismilla – also faced ‘boycott’ calls on social media. Are you scared?

There are a few groups that have been calling for a boycott, yes. They are a few. There are computer hackers but they could not stop us from using computers. There are bank account hackers who stole from people’s accounts. But we did not stop keeping our money in banks. I don’t want to think about this. I have been making films for years and so far, I have made 28 films. I have never hurt anyone’s faith, work, worldview, or sentiment. I have never faced such boycott calls. If there is anything to be boycotted, boycott superstitions and blind reactionary faith.

How was it to direct Ujaan? This is the first time…

This is the first time I have worked with Ujaan. He was 21 when we shot the film and he became more mature in these years. Many years ago I worked with him once when he was such a baby that we needed to call him by his name to make him look at us. Churni and I did not visit him during his shooting of Rosogolla. Shibu (Shiboprosad Mukherjee), Nanditadi (Roy) and others watched his play and called him for an audition. Along with Pavel (director of Rosogolla), they watched his audition and selected him for the film. Later they asked me to make a film with him. Ujaan, Churni and I see ourselves as a family of entertainers. We wanted to be a part of a film that will be etched as an important film in Indian history. I believe Lokkhi Chele is one such film with which our Ganguly family is deeply associated.

Unlike many of your other films, Lokkhi Chele could not impress the National Award jury…

All films are not recognised by the National Award. Two of my films were there – Lokkhi Chele and Jyeshthoputro. They like Jyeshthoputro better. No regrets there. Also, the choice of the jury varies with the person who is heading it. A film that will be loved by Govind Nihalani might be different from the one appreciated by Shekhar Kapoor. Not all films will be equally liked by them. My Cinemawala and Apur Panchali did not win any National Awards but that did not stop people from loving them. What matters to me the most is when single-screen theatres hand the houseful board and lock the gate or Bookmysho shows a grey patch on the time slot to indicate that the show is a houseful one. That matters the most.

Also read: Exclusive! Ujaan Ganguly on ‘boycott’: The instinct and tendency to write something off makes no sense 

Barring Aparajito and Bela Shuru, Bengali films are generally suffering at the box office. Do you think the market is yet to warm up after Covid? People are still a little scared to go out?

Why? Did people become less health conscious since it was a film made on Satyajit Ray? Look, if our films don’t run successfully, we blame the weather or IPL. But in reality, we can film many many superhit films that are released during the time of monsoon or some tournament. It is not the weather or boycott call but the merit of the film that determines if it can do business or not. As a director, I think it is my responsibility to make a good film. If Lokkhi Chele doesn’t run well, it will be my responsibility. If we, the filmmakers, don’t take responsibility for the failure and introspect then the blame game will continue and nothing will change.

Bangladesh is making critically acclaimed work and some of their contents is available in India on OTT platforms. What are the factors that are working in favour of them do you think?

I watch their work keenly. I watched a song from the film, Hawa, ‘Basanta Kale Tomay Bolte Parini’. They are doing great work and we are doing it too. People watched Aparajito, Nagarkirtan, and Shabdo. Not just in Bangladesh, we have also made films that did extraordinarily at the box office. Bela Shuru is made in Bengal only and it has been running for weeks. When we think about Hawa, we will also talk about Mandaar. In Bangladesh, they are doing some extraordinary work and we will be inspired by them just like they get inspired by our good work. In the South, the equation is different. One film is released in four languages. Unfortunately, that cannot happen in Bangladesh and West Bengal despite the same language. There are red tapes and that will not be sorted overnight.

It is often criticised that Tollywood producers allow very little time for the directors and makers to make a film. Do you think less time impacts the quality? For example, Riddhi said that he would grip shehnai playing better had he gotten a little more time…

It is not true that a film will turn out to be good if we make it with a lot of time. You can’t get the business and you will ask for days that cannot happen. That is not fair to the producers. One has to be prepared and planned. One cannot try and be creative on set. The primary condition is to make a good film. It has to entertain people. A person will pay Rs 250-300 for tickets in multiplexes. As filmmakers, we will have to offer them the content worth the money. I have made Apur Panchali in 14 days and Khad in 19 days. No one was bothered if those films were made in a hurry. People queued up and watched.

Riddhi is a sincere actor who figured out what could have been done better. Many established actors wiped sitar on the screen in the name of playing it. Many actors slapped harmonium instead of playing it.

You have acted in web series. When will you start directing OTT content?

Today, every filmmaker has to make content for OTT platforms. There cannot be any other way. I have started taking training on the medium. I am working as an actor to learn how a story is told on the OTT, how one should prepare and deliver and how it is different from theatrical releases. The moment I am confident I will get into OTT.