The aim was to raise a voice in fighting the injustice that stray animals face, and the theme has resonated with the people across Bengal. With houseful shows (55 till now) across theatres in and outside Calcutta, Team Pariah has successfully managed to spread awareness about the rights of strays.
The passion project has earned very enthusiastic and heartfelt reactions from people in multiplexes and single-screen theatres, with each action sequence being greeted with roaring applause. On February 14, Pariah saw 34 houseful shows.
"I think this awareness was very much needed and was long due. I couldn't shift my eyes from the actors, they have delivered a great performance. Everyone was so brilliant. Director Tathagata Mukherjee just nailed it," said Bibriti Chatterjee
“It’s extremely exciting how people are applauding, whistling, coming to the theatres in large numbers and supporting the cause so much. I hope this unbelievable feedback turns into increasing numbers at the movie theatres and it’ll be on screen for longer because we intended to reach out to as many people as possible. On Saraswati Puja / Valentine’s Day we had houseful shows across Bengal. The reaction and love is overwhelming and I hope this will push a Volume 2 of Pariah,” said Vikram.
The action sequences are one of the high points of the film. “The sequences where my character is boiling with rage and dealing with the tormentors, despite being injured, I think that was the most fun to shoot. While shooting the sequences which followed it, I had to be in my character for a longish period and ponder... despite it being shot over two days, I had to be in character. There was a scene with around 25 to 30 fighters in a very narrow lane,” added the actor.
In the third act of the film, Pariah pays tribute to the cult favourite Evil Dead. “It’s my childhood favourite. The tribute can be spotted in the chainsaw sequence... and the scene shot in the lane was a tribute to Oldboy (2003). Both are horror action films and cult favourites. The reactions of the people are making me realise what an emotional journey it has been,” said director Tathagata Mukherjee.
“I’m waiting for the sequel. The movie is super close to my heart and I’m happy that people have supported us,” said Sreelekha Mitra
When asked about the inspiration behind shooting the action sequences, he said, “I chose a colour palette that’s befitting to Calcutta’s current surroundings. Calcutta has a gloomy appearance far divorced from a stylised Hollywood and I used lights, editing, colour and a camera that will make it look realistic. Uttaran a young 24-year-old boy who handles the camera sat with me and I briefed him about how I wanted to capture Calcutta’s mundane details, devoid of glamour. It’s his fourth work with me and as my DOP he has perfectly captured what I wanted to execute.”
Sandeep Bhattacharya and Soumya Mukherjee. “First, I need to settle down, I need to gather my thoughts. We do get a lot of projects in our career but there are certain films where we invest our time and more than time a lot of emotions... this is one such film. I’m very emotional at the moment because more than me and my character, the film has been received so well,” said Soumya, who played the antagonist.
Debleena Dutt, Debopriyo Mukherjee, Atanu Raychaudhuri
“I loved the film. I think it has given us a benchmark. It has been wonderfully created and it has an apt topic. The message the team wanted to convey is perfect. It is about unsung superheroes in our society. Every locality has an animal lover who religiously feeds the strays and provides medical aid to them,” said Neel Bhattacharya.
