For many Uttam Kumar fans, time came to a standstill with the untimely demise of the legend in 1980. While some found solace in his memories, others wallowed in nostalgia by watching his films over and over again. Now, all that is going to change from March 22 with the release of Srijit Mukherji’s film Oti Uttam in the theatres as Uttam Kumar returns to the big screen after 42 years. Directed by Srijit, Oti Uttam has Uttam Kumar in the lead. In the romantic comedy, Krishnendu calls upon the spirit of his idol, the late superstar Uttam Kumar through a seance. He seeks help in wooing Sohini, the girl he is hopelessly in love with. Uttam Kumar agrees to play cupid but on his own terms. A The Telegraph chat with Srijit...

Let’s begin with the Oti Uttam song, Chawl meye. Taking off from the lyrics, and on a lighter note, when was the last time you went out for coffee with someone?!

(Laughs out loud) I have gone past the age of having coffee in cafes. First of all, I don’t like having coffee that much. If I have to say, “Chawl meye...”, then I’ll say: “Let’s have momos; or let’s go to Mocambo and have Fish A La Diana!”

The film-watching experience has changed completely in the last couple of years. People go to the theatres to watch event films. Is Oti Uttam that kind of an event film?

Oti Uttam is an event film because the greatest Bengali star ever will be back in the theatres. There’s a reason why you would want to watch it on a big screen.

What is the genesis of Oti Uttam?

There was this regret ... that I could not work with him (Uttam Kumar).... because of no fault of mine. Chronology didn’t support it. So I thought why not take it forward with the help of technology? First I wrote an unconditional script assuming he is alive. Then I revisited his films and tried to approximate dialogues closest to the dialogues I have written in my unconditional script. Eventually, I got the approximation in 54 films. So I had to rewrite the script 54 times. With each iteration, I had one or multiple dialogues replaced with dialogues that existed but in a different context. Once I had a script consisting of clippings then the dialogues were covered. I also needed pauses, counter-reactions... maybe in one scene he is standing and in the next scene with dialogue, he is sitting down. To maintain action continuity I had to place a shot of him coming and sitting down. These shots also needed to be found out. Then, of course, there was the huge task of acquiring the negative, digital and satellite rights for those films. That itself should be the subject of a documentary! There were lots of production houses that had one film or two films. Someone’s grandfather produced two films and then shifted business.

What does Uttam Kumar mean to you?

He became the ultimate actor-star. There are actors and then there are stars but in the case of Uttam Kumar the two identities just merged. The first Uttam movie I ever watched was Saptapadi. I remember watching Shesh Anka, and Thana Theke Aschi. I became obsessed with Nayak. I was an active participant in Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee debates. I always thought Uttam Kumar was the greatest. The sheer number of mediocre scripts that Uttam Kumar has elevated through his charisma, personality and acting... that itself is a clincher for me. Oti Uttam came from the intense desire to see him on the big screen.

Did you ever discuss Uttam Kumar and his movies with Soumitra Chatterjee? Did he share any anecdotes?

Yes. He used to talk a lot. He said that they shared a very cordial relationship. He was very generous with his praise.

Why cast Anindya Sengupta and Roshni Bhattacharya?

Anindya has this spontaneity and a boy-next-door appeal. Oti Uttam was the first film I offered Anindya. X=Prem came later. Roshni had assisted me in Zulfiqar, and I thought she was promising as an actress. She has a fresh face.

In the film, we see Anindya, who plays a college student, obsessed with Uttam. We see many Uttam posters in his room. How much of it is plausible? We understand Roshni’s character having posters of Ranbir Kapoor in her room. But a young man of today has posters of Uttam Kumar?

He is not obsessed... he is doing a PhD in Sociological Impact of the Smile of Uttam Kumar.

In Aparna Sen’s Yuganta, there is a scene involving the smile of Indir Thakrun!

Susmita Dasgupta did a PhD in Sociological Impact of the Eyes of Amitabh Bachchan!

During the post-production of the film, artificial intelligence opened up new avenues for you...

I heard Mohammed Rafi singing Lutt putt gaya. Then I started reading up and I got in touch with an American company. I understood the concept. They have a base voice that mimics the intonation, pronunciation, spacing, the specialty of someone speaking and hence you get a skeleton. The base voice has to be closest to the voice you are recreating. On that skeleton, you layer it with the actual timbre of the voice. So you have the exact ups and downs in terms of the frequency... and timbre-wise it is the original. So it is as good as dubbing it with Uttam Kumar.

So the base voice is of actor Surojit Banerjee, and on that we have layered it with Uttam Kumar’s voice... it is as good as Uttam Kumar speaking.

Surojitda can do three different Uttam Kumar voices — from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He is an Uttam buff like me.

Uttam arrives through planchette. Have you conducted a seance?

No, but I like the concept. You’ll find the concept of planchette in Ray’s writings.

Why does Uttam not appear in colour?

Uttam comes in black and white and he says that in the film. He is comfortable in black and white.

Is there any philosophical connotation to it?

No.

Did you ever think of turning Oti Uttam into a thriller?

No. Uttam is all about romance. Uttam Kumar is the king of romance. Which is why the film is a love story. Uttam Kumar is the love guru.

Picture: Rashbehari Das