Having traces of the popular 'jatra' queen Late Bina Dasgupta, who had been a rage in rural drama belt of Bengal for years, heroin Locket Chatterjee says her character of a 'jatra star' in Nayika Sangbad was unparalleled in Bengali cinema.
"The flick, which centres on three 'Nayikas' of different art genres, one a heroine in arthouse films, one a jatra empress and the third one a masala film star, gives much space to the mindscape of the rural folk-drama actor for the first film to have given more than a passing reference to this form of art and their world," Locket, whose role in London-screened Balukabela.Com had got rave reviews, said here.
Speaking at the premier of Nayika Sangbad, she explained, "If you ask if my role has traces of Bina Dasgupta, yes there could be."
"Bappada (director Bappaditya Bandyopadhyay) is a passionate director who never touches his subject superficially. My character also hinges on jatra. However, she is a bit wary of film actors, feeling threatened by them which is also so humane and real life, and again like that jatra legend met a tragic end.
"Also I am happy the way the director has merged the two parallel strands of a heroin of a jatra , which is such an important unique art form of Bengal," the Mahapurush o Kapurush actor said.
"My story dwells on the different paths of three female actors, one of them representing a popular art form and it is definitely a woman-centric film. All my films had been, excepting Houseful which took up the issue of a director's forlorn self in the face of his films not getting the same adulation like potboilers," Bappaditya said.
"I saw the rushes and was touched by the simple, humane narrative," new age film maker Manoj Michigan, who had made successful comic caper 'Damadol' starring Saswata Chatterjee and others said.
Manoj had done a cameo of a director in the film like film maker Subrata Sen of Ek Je Achhe Kanya fame.
"Yes you can say we have partly explored the film within film format since the movie has the celluloid fraternity, showbiz reporters, producers and party as the centrestage.To recreate the feel of the place," he said.
However, apart from sharing the name with the 60s Nayika Sangbad', having Anjan Bhowmik as the heroine, there is no similarity with the plot. Here the characters talk about the missing person, Bappaditya said.
Produced by Manab Choudhury, Nayika Sangbad was released on September 27.
