'Teenkahon' reminds Imtiaz Ali of Ray, Ghatak's era

Filmmaker Imtiaz Alli, who is presenting adman Bauddhayan Mukherji's debut feature "Teenkahon" (Three Stories), says the award-winning Bengali movie reminds him of the cinema of Indian legends Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak.

"It seems as if the era of Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak can come back if more of such films are made... I was very happy to be approached to present it," Ali told the media here.

The film has been showcased in over 30 film festivals across the globe, including the prestigious DC Independent Film Festival, Washington DC, and has bagged over 20 awards.

Set for a September 11 release, "Teenkahon" tries to capture the changing face of morality, the degeneration of values, the increasing pollution of the spoken language and the changing social fabric of Bengal through three stories spread over a hundred years from 1920.

The three stories are structured in the manner of the classical three-act play with each act (read story) exploring one facet of an obsessive relationship outside the purview of marriage.

It stars Rituparna Sengupta, Sabyasachi Chakarborty and Suman Mukherjee in lead roles.

Ali said the film brings out three different worlds through Bengali cinema's "high quality" of production.

"It is very fascinating, very high quality and high calibre of production which Bengali cinema has always been known for. To see traces of it coming back, to see that it can be like that once more was very exhilarating and I see that in 'Teenkahon'," he said.

The "Highway" filmmaker hopes "Teenkahon" inspires other films across India. Though he is inspired by Bengali literature and culture and tries to imbibe as much as he can, Ali ruled out making a Bengali film.

"I don't think I will be able to direct a Bengali film because I don't know the language," he said.