I would like to ask Arjun Chakrabarty as to how he prepared himself to slip into the shoes of Apu in Subhrajit Mitra’s film Avijatrik? (Do you have questions for Team ‘Avijatrik’?... May 4)
Madhumanti Chakraborty

Arjun Chakrabarty: All credit goes to the team. Subhrajitda made an amazing script, Sohag Sen guided me very well to help me understand Apu’s character. And there are several people in a film unit who keep ensuring that things are in place to make it look as convincing as possible. I just had to grow my beard and pay attention to this team.

About his third installment of the Apu Trilogy, Ray said in an interview that Apu is almost an intellectual in it and he hopes to see his own reflection and his nuances in the character. Is Apu the same Apu of Apur Sansar, where he grieves the tragedy of Aparna and finds solace in the company of his son?
S. Ganguly

Subhrajit Mitra: Every director interprets the characters and the emotions in his own unique way, with his own signature. I followed the novel Aparajito and the characterisation of Apu as Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay has written and wanted to be. The character graph of Apu in Apur Sansar and Apu in Avijatrik is different in certain aspects as this film depicts a different part of Apu’s life, his journey, his wanderlust. But the basic interpretation of the emotions by Apu are the same in both the films as it is well established and written by Bibhutibhushan.

Arjun: Yes this is definitely the same Apu. It’s from the same novel (Aparajito). We begin right where Apur Sansar ended, keeping everything exactly as they were shown previously. This is just a continuation.

A still from the film ‘Avijatrik’. Sourced by the correspondent

Does Apu (Arjun Chakrabarty) have any cherished anecdotes with his father (Sabyasachi Chakrabarty) on the sets? Or some fun moments behind the screen?
Kiona Mondal

Arjun: Sharing screen space with Baba on the big screen is a dream come true. He’s fun to be around, while also being a legendary actor. Performing alongside him helped me deliver better. Moreover, I didn’t think I’d ever play his “friend”, so that was amusing.

I would like to know the significance of the title Avijatrik.
Arshi Hazra

Subhrajit: Avijatrik means “the adventurer”, who longs for wanderlust. Why this name? For that you have to see the film. It is self-explanatory.

I am a big fan of Sabyasachi Chakrabarty. It is extremely interesting to see the father-son duo on the screen and I’m hopeful that they will prove to be one of the USPs of the film.
Arshi Hazra

Subhrajit: Sabyasachi Chakrabarty is playing the aged Shankar of Chander Pahar fame, another immortal character of Bibhutibhushan. He is playing a major character here, not a cameo. He was cast well ahead of Arjun. For Apu’s part, we’d considered several big names from Calcutta as well as Bangladesh and they all came for screen tests. Finally, I zeroed in on Arjun, the reason is there to see on screen for everyone. This film remains true to the concluding part of the novel Aparajito.

Subhrajit Mitra. Sourced by the correspondent

First of all, I want to tell Team Avijatrik that I liked the trailer of the film very much. And through this mail, I want to convey my best wishes to the team. My questions for Team Avijatrik are: What is the name of the child-actor who played the important role of Kajol in the movie? And how did Team Avijatrik find him?
Sourish Misra

Subhrajit: Thank you for your wishes. Ayushman Mukherjee played the character of Kajol. He was selected after a rigorous audition of many kids. For the character of Kajol I took screen tests of many kids aged between six and seven years. I had a very specific look in mind. He should have deep, melancholic eyes as well as naughtiness in his looks. My friends and team members started a primary hunt to find such a kid. We did screen tests on every weekend with Sangeeta Chakraborty, who did the child actor workshops. Ayushman Mukherjee was the 83rd kid... I finally zeroed in on him after three stages of screen tests. It took me almost three/four months to complete the process.

t2: How did you direct him? What would you tell him?
Subhrajit: Ayushman is a very obedient kid. He was accompanied by his mother all along, other than Sangeeta. She primarily took the briefing from me and prepared Ayushman for nearly four/five months before actual shooting started. It was almost a regular affair for them. I visited the workshop every weekend to see the progress. Not only Ayushman, other kids who were part of the film have also attended the workshop regularly. Arjun spent time with Ayushman, during Sohag Sen’s workshop, so that the bond grows between them. Ayushman was well prepared before the actual shooting happened. He was a bit nervous on the first day of the shoot, in the midst of so many people. He only met couple of my ADs (assistant directors) during workshops and look test. Debanjana, Risha, Amita and Pratiksha, the women brigade in the AD team as well as Sangeeta and his mother helped him to overcome the nervousness. Ayushman was very fond of me. We spent lot of time together after pack up during outdoors. I had to enact the entire shot in front of him and I asked him to blindly copy that. To his credit, he pulled that off beautifully. I must admire his dedication as on certain days the shoot continued for more than 13/14 hours and he didn’t complain or throw tantrums even for a moment, as was expected from a little kid. He was always ready for the shot in time, whenever I needed him. We even celebrated his birthday in our last schedule. He was super happy. I was lucky to have Ayushman to play Kajol.

Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy carries an emotion. How difficult is it to put forward the same sense of emotions in Avijatrik and at the same time making it relevant in modern society?
Payal Roy

Subhrajit: I tried to remain true to the novel. The emotions are there itself. Avijatrik is based on the remaining part of the classic novel Aparajito. Classic means it is relevant beyond the confinement of time and space. The emotions and the journey are relevant to everyone, irrespective of their nationality, class and social strata, irrespective of the time. That’s the very reason Avijatrik has already garnered 18 laurels so far across the globe from the A-listed international film festivals.

Arjun: Hats off to the meticulously researched script, make-up, production design and costumes. These departments made the performers’ jobs easy. Avijatrik takes off right where Apur Sansar ended and we know how timeless these films are. So we just had to be honest to Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s novel. There was never going to be an attempt to make it fit into a 21st century mould. Old stories and their emotions are never stuck in time. We always feel the way previous generations felt.