Almost on a daily basis I encounter queries from people (kids, adults and elderly alike) about Sona’da, Abir and Jhinuk (played by Abir Chatterjee, Arjun Chakrabarty and Ishaa Saha).

When will Abir and Jhinuk get married? Where are they going for their next expedition? Will Semanti Sarkar appear in the next film? Countless fascinating questions. And why not.

Bengali audience across the world has accepted Sona’da, Abir and Jhinuk as their most beloved characters. As part of their lives. And Guptodhon franchise has become the medium to explore their own adventure fantasies.

I have devised a very simple answer to all these questions. I modestly say, “Let me ask Sona’da”. It’s his world after all. I only create what he wants to explore. So, comfortably I put the onus on Sona’da himself. And every time, unmistakably, it evokes a fond laughter from the person asking me. As a creator, what more can I desire! In such a small time, the trio has achieved such overwhelming love and response among millions of audiences as their favourite inspiration.

But there is a very personal space that I never get to share with anyone. Things that I wish I could accomplish over and above. And those very few with whom I have discussed the nuances, their answer is again very simple. “Guptodhon franchise is exactly what it should be. Nothing more is needed”.

But very few know that an extremely elaborate architectural design was created for the treasure chamber. We could only execute 75 per cent of the plan. That’s because, in Bengali cinema we constantly need to keep a check on cost and time since both are co-related.

During our location recce to Shimultala, I had seen a very interesting water reservoir built in the ground, right in front of the palace structure. Next to that was a brilliant royal staircase where Sona’da did his spectacular sword fight with Nokuldana (Abhishek). The grand arches of the staircase and the overall feel of that zone inspired me to choose it as the perfect spot for creating the entrance to the treasure chamber. The stone bust of Raja Krishna Chandra was placed in front of the reservoir where the dagger as the final ‘key’ was to be inserted. We achieved all of these.

In this context I must mention that Nokuldana in real life is one of the softest, kindest human beings who would never even hurt a fly. Turning him into the menacing villain, thanks to the lovely make-up done by Somnath, was quite a task. My initial plan was to make him roll down the entire length of the staircase after Sona’da hits him with his sword.

In reality, during the shoot, once Nokuldana was hit, he started rolling down the stairs just as planned. Only a couple of steps later, poor Nokuldana had all his limbs scratched and bruised on the broken-down rugged stairs. Suddenly I saw Sona’da, Jhinuk, Abir and Dumble, all four who just moments ago were brutally hit by the monstrous Nokuldana, come rushing in with genuinely concerned faces to his rescue.

This amazing fellow feeling is the true essence of film-making. So, my original plan got battered and in the film, Nokuldana managed to roll only two stairs to be precise!

What we couldn’t achieve due to time and cost, was the mechanism we had planned for the water reservoir. An iron casting of another dummy reservoir was designed to be created. It would be placed inside the original reservoir. The dummy will have two chambers, on top of each other, with multiple holes at the base of the upper layer.

Once the dagger as the ‘key’ gets inserted inside the inscripted base of Raja Krishna Chandra’s statue, the holes at the base of the upper chamber will get opened up mechanically. It will allow the entire water to get drained down into the lower chamber of the dummy.

On camera, we would get to see the tank getting completely drained out as water vanishes down below. The base of the reservoir was to look like a transparent crystal, giving it the look of a skylight of old times.

It would have given a complete authentic look and feel of the process. It was planned just like the prototypes of any magic trick that we see on stage.

In reality, it was done with visual effects. In Durgeshgorer Guptodhon we saw the water level going down the water reservoir with spectacular sound effects. I had to camouflage the actual application with computer-generated effects.

Inside the treasure chamber, the water that came down from the reservoir got accumulated in the lotus-shaped pot as shown in the ground. On top of it, positioned in the ceiling was the same crystal base of the water reservoir acting as the skylight.

Light seeps in through the skylight, falls on the water in the lotus pot and gets reflected inside the treasure chamber with its caustic effects. With no torch or fire, this was how we had planned to create the unique light source inside the treasure chamber. We achieved most of it, barring the magical iron casting of the dummy reservoir and the crystal base. Audiences loved it nevertheless.

I have always believed in utmost detailing of every single aspect of my films. But in practical terms, the learning is, that in a tightly timed and budgeted scenario, you win some, you lose some. That’s reality.

Just the way I lost in creating another favourite mechanism that was planned for the rotating arms of the Durga idol for the final unlocking of the treasure. An elaborate multi-wheel mechanics attached to every arm was drawn that will make the arms of the idol work like levers. In spite of all the odds, I could still achieve it visually and it looks extremely convincing in the film. Even the kids understood that the arms are working as levers while Sona’da operates them to unlock the treasure.

What I missed out was in creating the wheels behind the idol that was to be shown as rotating and unlocking the levers. We didn’t have the time or the cost in our favour to do it in visual effects either. The mechanisms of Durgeshgorer Guptodhon is my tribute to the great architects of that time.

The film did a box-office collection of Rs 6.5 crore, making it the topmost grosser of 2019 among Bengali films. Sona’da, Abir and Jhinuk became household names to reckon with love and affection. I gained my fair share of accolades. Yet, every time I look back, I wish I could do just that little bit more, if nothing else, at least for my personal satisfaction. May be next time, I will be lucky. Hope is our greatest inspiration.