Team Pariah recently got together at Tall Tales on Camac Street to announce its entry into the world of OTT. The film is presently streaming on Hoichoi. Lubdhak Chatterjee, played by Vikram Chatterjee, was a messiah for stray animals who’re often subjected to abuse and negligence in society. He became a voice for all those unnamed animals. “I tried to follow the director’s brief in playing the character and I’m happy I took it up. Not only is it a subject that I feel passionate about, but also a challenge in my career. I’m glad my director had faith in me and I could live up to his expectations. I’ve ticked off a box in my career and the roles I’m suitable for,” said Vikram Chatterjee.
“The reason why people should adopt indies lies in the name itself. We’re more attracted to dogs from abroad. In the midst of this, we often forget that we’re Indians and we should uphold the same with a sense of pride like we do when the Indian cricket team wins, or India wins a gold at Commonwealth or Olympics. I have two indies at home and they’re so loving,” added Vikram.
“Pariah has changed my life for sure. We have managed to create an impact even if it is small in scale. People have become aware. However, we’ve not been able to stop it completely, and it’s not possible for just one film to do it. There’s going to be more films like this, more awareness campaigns, and people will become vocal... we’ve just planted a seed and with time, if people become more vocal we’ll get good results. A new law has been passed keeping in mind such cases, wherein causing harm to animals has become a heinous crime and strict actions can be taken. This is a small victory for all those people who’ve stood for the voiceless for years,” he added.
“We’ve got a lot of heartwarming responses. After Pariah released, an old assistant director of mine went to watch it in Nandan... he called me up and said that five people without eyesight had gone to watch the film. They got people along with themselves who could narrate the visuals to them and that seemed like a huge achievement for me. A lot of people reached out to me and shared how after watching the movie, they’ve regularly started feeding strays and giving them water... such small incidents have inspired me to make more such films,” said director Tathagata Mukherjee.
“I’m very excited that Pariah will reach out to a lot more people now that it has had a digital release. There are a lot of people who cannot go to the theatres to watch a movie, and I got a lot of enquiries about when it’s coming online or on television. This film has a message which should reach out to the maximum number of people as it raises awareness. I’m really happy as an audience member as well as an actor that the film has action, entertainment, and all the elements that make it a good watch. I’m happy that our film could strike up conversations and it’s continuing to do so,” said Angana.
At the press conference Sreelekha Mitra, who’s known for her animal activism, adoption drives, and working for animal welfare, shared an anecdote. “People came to me and shared how they were absolutely shocked to watch me play this role that’s totally against my character in real life. It was challenging and fun for me to play, and view the world of animals from a perspective that’s completely opposite to mine. I won’t say that mistreatment, abandonment and other negligence towards indies or animals in general have stopped totally, but Pariah made a lot of people aware and I’m happy that Tathagata took the initiative to do so,” she added.
“Pariah has broken stereotypes on many levels. My director has seen me in a character that the rest of the industry did not, so I’m very thankful to Tathada for casting me in such a role,” shared Soumyo Mukherjee, who played the antagonist in Pariah.
“I’ve grown up with animals at home, and I have found myself deeply connected with animals since childhood. With Pariah I could deliver a necessary message and the result was heartwarming,” said Tathagata Mukherjee.
