Mainak Bhaumik’s new film Bhaggyolokkhi, starring Ritwick Chakraborty, Solanki Roy, Debopriyo Mukherjee and Swastika Dutta, follows an ordinary middle-class couple who suddenly find themselves thrust headlong into a world of crime. Satya and Kaberi Ganguly are constantly worried about how to make ends meet. One day, Sayan, a friend of Satya from his school days, invites himself over for a night to their house. He mysteriously dies in their home, leaving behind a suitcase filled with money. As the couple go through his belongings, they uncover dark secrets. A t2 chat with Mainak.
What is the genesis of Bhaggyolokkhi?
For many years I’ve had this idea of starting a film with a husband and wife with marital issues, and financial stress that seems like a simple family drama and I would do a genre shift with a bag of money and a dead body. I’ve always avoided making films that speak politically but then at some point, I just couldn’t ignore how ridiculous the world has become.
Why did you decide to make a crime film?
The world around you will not make you want to make a cute rom-com. Not me at least. Also, I wanted to make a genre mix film which starts off with a drama and moves into the world of crime and chaos. I wanted to move from a real-world situation to a very unreal one with dead bodies and killers. Bhaggyolokkhi is more of an experiment if you will that concentrates on sound and visuals. It’s more of a film focusing on form. In such a situation a genre film as a backdrop always helps in making sure it doesn’t become taxing to watch. There is a lot of plot going on but this film is more about how you feel in the journey rather than the destination.
Why cast Ritwick and Solanki?
While writing the script and the tone of dark humour it was pretty clear to me that only Ritwick would be able to pull off humour within a scene that is inherently stressful. I’ve been wanting to work with Solanki for a while and then while writing this film I finally found the right material... a lot of responsibility was on her as her character holds the tension in the film. To say, she is a fantastic actor would be an understatement. Also, Debopriyo, Loknath De, Swastika Dutta, Neel Mukherjee and Judhajit Sarkar play important characters.
Tell us about the film’s treatment.
The entire script was designed to make it an audio and visual experience. Since the last few years, I have become very attracted to the role of sound in cinema, especially across the globe. I feel the understanding of sound has grown in leaps and bounds. So sound was going to play a major role in my films. When I say sound I don’t mean just background score but drones and ambience and effects. I wanted to create an ambience of terror. It is a dark film. There is a sense of humour that seeps through.
There is an element of dark comedy within the film. I honestly asked myself a simple question. How would I react to a dead body and a bag of cash and I realised I don’t know anyone who has or would have this information. The only source of information I would have is based on movies I watch. This is a movie inspired by movies. This film is sort of a crime fantasy I’d say.
How was your shooting experience?
It was fun and also stressful making this film as I was walking into a totally different territory. Most of the time I was shooting imagining the sound design or the effects I would place. I would spend hours with my cameraman Subhodeep Naskar, my editor Sumit, and sound designer Samrat Roy discussing what all we could do. Also, the film works on a fantasy level so not everything plays out according to a drama or necessarily how we would react to things in real life. If one notices in most horror movies when people sense a feeling of dread they never run — yet we all know the logical thing to do would be to run but then you wouldn’t have a film.
A thriller is conventionally designed to be pacey. Did you keep this in mind while editing the film?
I had intended the film to play out as a slow burn by design. And it is interactive. A lot of things I don’t show you on purpose so you can imagine it for yourself. I wanted the film to be interactive where the audience is participating in the way the story moves ahead. I usually always rush and cut when I’m working on other films but for this one, as I was working more based on sound, I would hold the shots much longer for effect. Bhaggyolokkhi isn’t just an unfolding of a story. It’s more of an experience you need to feel.
I also tried to keep the language very simple. This happens to be a Bengali film and the characters are Bengali but anyone can watch the movie and it wouldn’t matter where you are from to understand it.
What are you trying to say through the film?
I think there is a very clear socio-political message one can feel at the end of the film. One thing is clear, the world we live in isn’t far from a squeaky clean one. Corruption, negativity and perversity have taken over humanity. What is most important to me is that one will have a cinematic experience.
It seems you shot the film in a mostly confined space. Did it feel claustrophobic to you and your actors? How did that impact the filmmaking?
I think when it comes to me and what I love about films is when in a film, characters are confined by obstacles. It creates good tension and holds the audience. I think confining this couple in a space makes you stress out a lot. That was what I was aiming for. But as I said I didn’t make a theme park potboiler crime film. I aimed at the most risky — let the film attack you through your senses. I understand that now is not the best time to make risky movies but where is the fun in cinema if you aren’t pushing it till you might just fall off a cliff? Will I survive it or will I fall and splatter? As I said, I am here for the journey and not the destination.