A contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello, Arna Mukhopadhyay’s maiden feature film Athhoi is also a cinematic adaptation of his immensely popular play of the same name. A t2 chat with Anirban Bhattacharya and Sohini Sarkar, who play pivotal roles in the upcoming film that will hit the big screens on June 14.
Tell us something about the play from which this film has been adapted.
Anirban: The original play as we all know is the well-known Shakespearean tragedy Othello, written in the early 1600s. This play has been adapted many times for the stage and screen in various languages around the world. Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara (2006) is one such memorable adaptation. Athhoi the play is an Indianised version of the story. This adaptation was done in a way that would be suitable for the stage. Arna Mukhopadhyay first directed the play in 2015. It was very well received by the audience and continues to run successfully in theatres even now. We started work on the film in 2023 and we are now ready to share it with the audience in mid-2024.
What was your response when you heard that it would be made into a film?
Anirban: Arnada has a practice of writing screenplays. He has recently written the Bengali screenplay of a famous play by Anton Chekov. As I was associated with Athhoi the play for the last seven years, he asked me to listen to the first draft of the screenplay of its film after he had finished writing it. I was overjoyed after hearing it. Firstly, because it was an excellent script for making into a film. And also because through it, the character of Gogo, which is perhaps one of the most complex and satisfying roles that I have ever played, would get to be preserved on film. Though I enjoy portraying the character on stage, a stage character ceases to exist after its last show has ended. Whereas in a film, the character will stay documented forever. So obviously it was an exciting proposition for me.
The play and the film are both set in the present day. What were the reasons for doing so?
Anirban: The play and the film both want to hold a mirror to current society through the medium of a celebrated classic. To this end, it has tried to capture the present and address the typical signs, patterns and behaviours of our time. Though its story is 500 years old, Othello being a classic, is relevant to the present context and so it was possible to modernise it quite simply.
Anirban Bhattacharya being interviewed about his upcoming bengali movie 'ATHHOI' in SVF office, Kolkata on 11.05.2024. The Telegraph picture by Bhubaneswarananda Halder
As the creative director of Athhoi, what was your main objective and how did you go about achieving it?
Anirban: In a play, though the action as such is restricted within the dimensions of the stage, the artistic possibilities are infinite. Even a minimum stage setup and props can express something extraordinary and larger-than-life. However, the same is not true for cinema. What we can make use of are the large, expansive wide-angle shots, atmospheric night scenes, gorgeousness of colour and light and so on for cinematic effect. So the challenge was to achieve through the lens that largeness of scale as conceived by Shakespeare to depict the large canvas of his period play. Also, as Shakespeare’s characters are all familiar to us, the idea was to create an extension of the real human being on screen.
Other than that I have stayed as close to the text of the play as possible. I have always felt that the story in itself is extremely powerful and commercially viable.
What were the advantages of working on the film after having performed in the play?
Anirban: The two artistic mediums are very different. They have different demands and obviously need different approaches from an actor. The primary objective was to understand the visual language of cinema, what it wants to convey and then attune my performance according to it. Even though, I do not believe that cinema has a particular grammar of its own. What it involved was presenting the same text in two completely different ways for the viewing pleasure of the audience. So there was no advantage as such in having already performed the same character for the stage.
What were the stylistic changes you made while enacting your characters for the film?
Sohini: This is the first time that I have worked on a film that has been adapted from a play and also in which I have acted both for the stage and screen versions. Having said that, I must admit, that there were no changes so far as my acting parameters or my craft was concerned. In fact the movie’s script was altered very minimally from that of the play, and that too for technical reasons. The changes I had to adopt were also for the same reason. For instance, when the camera was very close to me, I needed to speak my lines more subtly, with fewer body movements and expressions and obviously in a lower voice than what I would have done, had I been saying those same lines on stage.
Anirban: Just as Sohini said, keeping the characterisation intact, I only had to adjust the degree of expression of the emotions according to the requirement of the film medium.
A moment from the film
What according to you is the single defining trait of your character and how did you attempt to portray it?
Anirban: Gogo is based on Iago’s character, which we all know to be a negative character. So my focus was all about getting the devil inside me to rise and express itself.
Sohini: For me it was the exact opposite. I had to seek out and reveal the innocent and naïve part of me for this role (laughs).
After working together in so many films, how would you describe your onscreen chemistry with each other?
Anirban: It has evolved a lot over the years. By now we have reached a space where we know that we have a level of understanding with each other and also the self-confidence that, when our characters are on screen together we will naturally achieve the kind of chemistry demanded from us by that scene.
Sohini: I have worked with Anirban in many films and series and have rehearsed with him for a long time for theatre performances too. Naturally, I know him closely as a person as well. For me, it means the comfort of knowing that I am working with a friend rather than with an actor with whom I share only a professional relationship.
How would you assess Arna Mukhopadhyay as a director in this film?
Sohini: I have worked under his direction on two plays, Athhoi, and before that Mahabharat. We have rehearsed extensively for these plays before they were finally staged. So I know him more as a theatre person than as a filmmaker and I am sure Arna also identifies himself the same way. In my opinion, he is an excellent director to work for and again my comfort level with him ensures that there are no gaps left in our communication.
Anirban: Since I am also the creative director for this film, I have been very closely associated with Arnada with several aspects of its making from conception and design to planning and execution. Also since both he and I are two of the main actors, some directorial work was delegated to other members of the directorial team, who assisted us very well. So it was a team effort this time and I would prefer to judge him as a director for a film after I have worked only as an actor under his sole direction. Also, it would not be fair to assess the qualities of such a talented artiste after doing just one film with him.
Any special memories that you have carried back from the time of the making of this film?
Anirban: When we see a film for the first time after it has been made ready with all edits, music and so on, what mainly strikes us are the memories of all the problems and the tensions that we faced during shooting. It may be that there was a car breakdown somewhere or that we faced water scarcity or any other big or small crisis. Shooting is extremely serious, arduous work and there were hardly any fun or even happy incidents worth mentioning.
Sohini: Frankly, there was no time to have fun; the whole film was shot in just 22 days and the schedule was so tightly packed that we barely managed to get enough sleep in between.
For Sohini -
Outfit: A Tale Of Textile By Avijit
Makeup: Sanu Singha Roy
Hair styling: Supriya Mondal