You never know what stories you are going to chase: Bornila

She has adapted what is considered to be one of the least loved plays by William Shakespeare for the big screen but director Bornila Chatterjee says one does not know which story is waiting to be made.
The filmmaker says the Bard continues to be relevant even today, as no one explores emotions in the purest sense like him.
In an interview with PTI, Bornila says, "You never know what stories you are going to chase at what point in your life. So there's always a room. (But) Shakespeare explores emotions in their unadulterated form. If the characters are angry they are really angry and if they are jealous they see green.

"He pushes the emotions to such an extreme that it as creative beings it is sort of interesting to sink your teeth in. You literally like getting your hands dirty and dealing with the deepest, darkest parts of a human being."
The director presented her film "The Hungry", based on Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus", at the Dharamshala International Film Festival 2017.
The film was made under the Film London and Cinestaan in 2015 as a part of Shakespeare's 400th birth anniversary.

Bornila says they chose to fund one independent micro budget film, which would be an adaptation of one of his plays and it was their script that came through the selection process out of six proposed ones.

The director says the story still resonates in today's day and age as the hunger for power and control stands insatiated.
Actor Naseeruddin Shah plays Tathagat, the Indian version of Titus, while Tisca Chopra portrays Tulsi, the Indian form of Tamora.
"The play is something that is still relevant. That is violence in the (Roman empire's goatverse from the play) as well as today. It's a face-off between the matriarch Tulsi and the patriarch Tathagat and how they get caught up in the cycle of revenge.
"You have these powerful heads of families and each of them want to hold on to the power not only in their units but also want to exercise power over the business empire. That's very important to them."

The movie, that is full of of gore, violence and symbolism, has had many people come up to the director with interesting, funny and equally bizarre theories.
"People have come up with lot of funny theories after watching the film and we are having fun listening to them. When I was making the film, I didn't think what it would look like.
"It was more about what those characters were feeling at that time. I wanted to show the depraved gluttony of the power-hungry and what better way than show it through that awful climax," she says.
The film also features Sayani Gupta, Neeraj Kabi, Antonio Aakeel, Arjun Gupta and Suraj Sharma.