A scandal erupts in a small village hamlet next to a tiger reserve. To verify the truth behind the incident, a journalist, Siddharth, goes over from Calcutta to this village in the guise of a photographer. He meets a doctor, Bidita, who teams up with him. Arnab Riingo Banerjee’s new series Pilkunj, starring Sean Banerjee, Trina Saha, Shankar Debnath, Joey Debroy, and Devtanu, is now streaming on KLIKK. A t2 chat with Riingo.

Riingo

The series is based on real events that took place in 2017. When did you first hear about this?

I was running late for a flight from Mumbai to Calcutta... I was stuck in the infamous Mumbai jam when I saw a story on an online news portal based out of Australia, which had a horrific story to tell about a scam involving tigers. The story sent chills and I remember, during my flight, my mind was running amok to think of the courage the elders had who willingly participated in the scam to serve their families. I knew someday I would like to tell this story.

Why did you decide to tell the story now?

I researched, travelled to the particular village and met a few people but they were reticent to talk about it. The scam was already exposed and they would rather look away than look in. Yet I probed and I got to learn the dynamics and the logistics of the operation. Then I wrote a script and approached producers and frontline Bollywood actors to feature in my debut Hindi project. It was decided we should roll in 2020. Then Covid happened and everything was fuzzy. The future of my film was looking murky.

By then Srijit (Mukherji) had announced his film (Sherdil) and I knew the timing had to be later. 2023 is perfect I guess to launch this on OTT. Small regrets? Yes, the Hindi debut is pending, but to tell a survival adventure true story I needed time in running hours and OTT is the right format to do it. And 50 years of Project Tiger is the right time to launch it.

What is the storyline of your series?

I follow the five days of an investigative journalist who never imagined how hard and challenging this story would be. This story is about courage and a David vs. Goliath conflict. The story is told in a very linear, progressive manner and as you reach the end, you see there are no villains here, it’s always about the two sides of a story in their own perspectives.

How is your series different from Sherdil?

His story followed a mukhia trying to raise money. My story is about the method and logistics of the scam that ran and the reactions of the people in power positions when they realise a journalist is all out to expose them.

Why cast Trina and Sean?

It had to be Sean and Trina. Not only because they are the youth icons and are loved by people of all ages, but the dynamism and the strength that Sean brings alive with his portrayal of Siddharth Shekhar — name changed from the original reporter. His gonna-live-no-matter-what attitude was crucial. And Trina has her own maverick style that makes her apt for the role.

The cast went through various levels of hardships.

Sean starved for three to four days to get into the skin of the character during the jungle scenes. He needed to look weak and defeated. Trina went a step ahead — though she does not know how to swim, she risked her all in that raft scene where she and Sean were abandoned in the middle of a waterbody that had depth of over 100m. We were doing the aerial shots and the lifesavers had to be away for the shot. It was a makeshift dingy and I missed heartbeats with every passing second till the shot was over. How long it took us to finish the scene? Five hours!

Joey

How challenging was it to shoot the scene with Sean covered in mud?

Not just mud... two days of mud, one day in the stagnant waterbody filled with muck, insects, worms and algae. He was in that water for a day and so was I and my camera assistants. We did underwater shots in these remote places. Dream come true for me.

What was the most challenging part about shooting the series in Jharkhand?

Everything was tough. We were cheated by a local guy who was a part of our team and just one day prior to the shoot we realised we were being conned. So our producer and team line producer who had no clue of anything in Jharkhand took over and producer Ohendrila Banerjee decided we fight it with all that we had. Our intent was right and like magic things started to fall in place by that night. But those six hours were crucial for me and the team. We were living in a limbo.

And most importantly we were mounting the epic on a mobile phone of one-inch format. This was tough as we knew there would be a lot of VFX involved.

What kind of tech gear did you use to shoot the series?

We bought special rigs and lenses to do the jungle scenes. But the excitement was to conquer underwater shoot with this format. We bought waterproof casing and I love snorkelling but I never knew it will be this freaking tough in these waters. The equipment was taken to the highest levels of torture. They survived. We survived!

Tell us about the VFX work used for this series.

Rajat Dalui and his team at 4th Dimension did the impossible. Rajat and I go back years and I have always believed in his vision. Watch Pilkunj and you shall know why. We used matte painting. Tiger models were used and the tough part was to shoot the jungle in the day and make it look as night.

What are you trying to say through this series?

Don’t blame the tigers. They belong to the jungles. We don’t. We do things to make good by proving to one and all that they are man-eaters. Save the tigers.

What can the audience expect from the series?

Thrill, drama, a true depiction of a real event and an absorbing six episodes of high-voltage adventure.

Devtanu