Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; June 6, 2016)
Despite receiving an encouraging response on the festival circuit, director Ribhu Dasgupta's debut film, Michael, didn't release in theatres across India. However, the young filmmaker is hoping that his second venture, Te3n, will please critics and audiences alike. The emotional thriller, which sees Amitabh Bachchan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui share screen space for the first time and Vidya Balan in a pivotal guest appearance, has already piqued the interest of viewers. In an exclusive chat with Bombay Times, the young filmmaker, who is the son of Bengali director Raja Dasgupta and grandson of Harisadhan Dasgupta, the renowned documentary filmmaker, talks about his foray into Bollywood and why Te3n doesn't share any similarities with Kahaani. Excerpts... How did Te3n happen?
I was working with my fathe , in Kolkata. Later, I came to Mumbai when Anurag Kashyap was making Black Friday and assisted him. After a few years, I decided to direct Michael. Though it was screened at various film festis vals, it never saw the light of the day in India. Then, I got an opportunity to direct the TV series, Yudh, which marked Mr Bachchan's debut in the a fiction genre on the small screen. At that time, I met Sujoy Ghosh and we brainstormed about the kind of film we wanted to do with the legend of Hindi cinema. Both of us were supposed to make a another film titled Kerala with him. When we were about to start its pre0production, we discussed the idea of Te3n with him. He liked it and then we thought, 'Let's do this first'. That's how this movie happened.
How did you come to terms with your debut film's fate?
(After Michael) I felt that nothing was happening right. Such phases in life are tricky. They can easily compel you to do something that you wouldn't do otherwise. Luckily, my mind was in the right place and then TV happened. Yudh was well received and I was getting more offers. However, I wanted to try something different. It had been a few years since I made a film, so I decided to get back to writing after I met Sujoy.
Were Nawazuddin and Vidya obvious choices since Sujoy, who is Te3n's creative producer, had worked with them previously in Kahaani?
Nawaz had a cameo in Yudh and after Mr Bachchan gave his nod to the film, he was the first actor we wanted to cast. As for Vidya, Sujoy asked if we could pitch the idea to her, 'Are you joking?' He countered, 'Do you want her in the film?' I said it would be great if she comes on board. So, we sent her the script and met her only after she had read it. The fact that she said yes, even though it's a special appearance, means the script mattered to her.
Why did you choose Kolkata as the setting?
I love Kolkata since I come from there. But when you write a film, it's important to set the story at the right place. After all, the characters should be rooted to the social, political and cultural milieu they belong to. In fact, we wanted to set the film in Goa, but there were some logistical issues. It was Mr Bachchan who suggested that we shoot in Kolkata.
Even Kahaani was a thriller set in the City of Joy. Weren't you apprehensive that this film may look similar to it?
No, because the Kolkata you saw in Kahaani is not what you will see in my film. Sujoy didn't accompany me for the recce. But when he saw the photographs of the places I wanted to shoot at, he wondered how I found those areas. Even Vidya said she hadn't seen those locations before. In Kahaani, her character comes from another city. So you see the metropolis from an outsider's point of view. In Te3n, the characters have been living in Kolkata all along. When you watch it, you'll realise that the city plays the fourth character in the story.
Since you shot at real locations and in natural light, what was the most challenging part?
While we got support from the state government to secure permissions and shoot at various locations, the public would throng to see Mr Bachchan, Vidya and Nawaz at work. Every day, we had about 400-500 cops on location and we'd have to walk through huge crowds before we could actually begin shooting. Yes, the people of West Bengal love cinema and would cooperate when we'd ask them to. But with those huge crowds, darr toh lagta tha.
Though the buzz about your film is encouraging, reports have been rife about your next film. Apparently, you'll be working with Amitabh Bachchan again and are even casting Kareena Kapoor Khan for it.
Who wouldn't want to work with Mr Bachchan again? Right now, till June 10, there is so much happening that there is no time to think about anything else.