As we stepped into The Black Cat on Park Street, the ambience was energetic. Amartya Ray was immersed in the character of Jude while singing as the lead vocalist of his band. Meanwhile, Chaiti Ghoshal, being her passionate self, stood right beside the camera crew making hand gestures to the two other guitarists beside Amartya. Ghoshal’s first directorial, Nevermind stars Rituparna Sengupta as Trina and Amartya Ray as Jude. Trina who is going through a lot, has a complicated past with Calcutta where she had left a part before moving to England. However, almost two decades later, life brings her back to a bar on Park Street, called Nevermind Bar, where she meets a charming and intriguing young musician, Jude. The movie revolves around the occurrences of a single day.
THE GIRL WHOSE PAST BRINGS HER BACK TO THE NEVERMIND BAR — TRINA (played by Rituparna)
Trina has multiple layers. While she is a distressed and intrigued woman in a major part of Nevermind, she is also a bubbly girl at heart. When Rituparna walked into the set at The Black Cat, she looked enchanting in an ankle-length deep blue Sylvian Heach dress with a grey dupatta. A major part of the film is shot with her in this outfit. “The dress has an interesting story. In a once in a blue moon occurrence, I told my husband (Sanjay) that I will accompany him on his business trip... because it was in Switzerland! While we were on our way back from Milan, I realised that I had not gotten myself a single dress. The minute I realised that we stopped to pick two dresses from this Milan-based local designer brand. What I am wearing today, is one of those dresses and I think we have made excellent use of this dress. When Chaiti and I were discussing the wardrobe this dress came up and we knew we had the primary outfit. Moreover, it goes with the overall palette set by the director and the costume designers while complimenting the milieu and attitude of the film,” said Rituparna.
Rituparna Sengupta posed for the t2 camera
She added, “Trina’s character has extraordinary pathos with a bubbly streak. She is not a girl who will sulk in pity... of course, she has her share of sadness but also looks forward to a positive life. In this film, her life is very complicated and she is not aware of what will be the next thing. Her entire journey from a teenager to the present day is shown in glimpses in the film and it is very well presented how she still tries to negotiate with the situation and come up with a solution. I must mention that the concept of ‘never mind’ has somewhat been lost from our lives and it is a very necessary aspect that we must remember to incorporate in our lives. I think if we can say ‘never mind’ in our lives, we our winning the battles.”
The actress also noted her love for the way that the movie is not just about her character but also talks about numerous nuances of the other characters’ lives. Talking about the setting of the film, she said: “This bar actually creates the aura and ambience... when you come into a bar, a lot of things play out. The way people of the bar react or their stories also affect her and she notices a number of things after returning to Calcutta after so many years.”
Talking about Amartya, she said: “I have known him as this wonderful boy... and now he is this good-natured young man. The sweetness alongside the vulnerability... that boy I knew has always remained in Amartya. He does everything with conviction and sincerity and he will go a long way because of his hard work. Bhavna Aaj O Kaal is presenting the film, a part of it is produced by Parashu Pictures and the writer, Mitudi (Mitali Ghoshal) is also with us on the production. Music being a pivotal part of the film, Rupam Islam’s music is the icing on our cake! So, we really hope together we can make it a good watch,” concluded Rituparna.
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE LENS — CHAITI GHOSHAL
Chaiti directing son, Amartya for a song scene
Chaiti feels that The Black Cat has this beautiful blend of nostalgic and present-day vibes. “This feeling of the bar sits very well with my film since it is about the past that we all carry but we also believe in today,” said Chaiti. The actress-turned-director added, “Never mind means a lot to me. I lost my mother (Trishna Ghoshal) during the pandemic who was one of the greatest influences on our lives. I lost several other close friends too. So, a lot of things happen in all our lives and I hope we can say never mind, life goes on! Be it happy or sad, never mind as a concept is recurring. I am usually very sorted with work but being a director was never a plan. I am discovering new sides of myself whilst directing this film. Through this film, I am telling the story of numerous relationships of people present in the bar. Had I set it up in a family setting it would be termed as a commercial film but at the end of the day, it is human relationships... the film examines the relationships different individuals have with Calcutta. For instance, we all know Park Street for the parties, cocktails, wine, dresses, but below this fancy coating, there is a naked, gaping face. I say the story of Park Street in an unconventional way where this party hub is truly the underbelly of Calcutta. While Nevermind talks about the lives of people in this beautiful bar, it also narrates the story of beggars on the streets.”
THE BAR SINGER — JUDE (played by Amartya Ray)
We saw Amartya perform one of the songs from the film while looking at Rituparna in the audience. He looked chic in a Guns N Roses T-shirt with a distressed denim jacket and boot-cut jeans. His wristbands and rings enhanced the look while a couple of star tattoos peeked out of his long sleeves and round-necked T-shirt. He said: “Samrat who has co-written the script of Nevermind is very influenced by rock ‘n’ roll and so am I.
We caught a glimpse of Amartya in his character for Nevermind as Jude.
Both of us chipped in and created Jude’s character like even the tattoo was not well-done but made to look like Jude might have gotten it from a roadside artiste or someone might have made it for him.” When we asked him if his character’s name was based on the iconic song by The Beatles, Hey Jude, Amartya laughed and said: “So, this reference is actually joked about in the film too. Like, I said Samrat has a strong musical inspiration and those aspects are evident in several scenes.”
The name of the film itself, Nevermind is inspired by the famous Nirvana album. “Jude Sebastian is basically an Anglo-Indian Parsi boy who can be seen not just interacting but having strong bonds with people from all walks of society. He is a singer at the Nevermind Bar where he sings his original compositions which are Bengali rock songs. The songs are in fact, written and composed by the extremely talented Rupam Islam. On one hand, we see Jude singing at this bar and on another hand, we see him hustling on the streets of New Market. What is the hustle about, will only be answered by the film. We can also see people on the streets of New Market recognising him while he speaks to outsiders and marginalised people. He is seen shifting in and out of multiple faces,” said Amartya. He also gave us an insight into the shooting. “Rituparna Sengupta is a very reactive actor. I have learnt the usage of cinematic pauses from her... and that was a little unexpected in the beginning. Luckily, on the first day of shooting, mom (Chaiti Ghoshal) chose to shoot the climactic scene which is an intense and emotional one. I believe that kind of opened me up.”
Amartya and Chaiti
Amartya, who also plays the role of a young Chuni Goswami in the upcoming film Maidaan, sees his Bollywood debut as his biggest achievement till date. Notably, he also contributed to the look of his character in Maidaan. “If production and directors allow, I would love to curate the looks of my characters because your body language and a lot of other things are dependent on your choice of outfit and ensemble...you get acting cues from there,” added Amartya. Talking about coming from a family of actors including his grandfather Shyamal Ghoshal and mother Chaiti, he noted, “When I was studying direction in FTTI, I realised that generations of students are studying my grandfather’s work. Well, the burden of legacy is present somewhere but I try to not get pulled down by it. I am trying to have my own identity here but honestly, I don’t want to fight this identity. I just hope I live up to their names.”