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An unusual love story
ZIYA US SALAM
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Filmmaker Aparna Sen on what led her to Kunal Basu’s The Japanese Wife.
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The protagonists did not see each other, yet loved each other intensely, courtesy the letters they exchanged
Less than 10 films in a directorial career spanning more than a quarter century! It would be safe to say Aparna Sen, of “36 Chowringhee Lane” fame, is not a prolific filmmaker. Rather, she is choosy. That high-risk policy in an age when t
op directors take on even three films in a year, has fetched her good returns.
“It has been a dream run, a wonderful journey. No complains at all,” she says, sitting at a five-star hotel in New Delhi. Of course numerous accolades, including Padma Shri and Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award, in the attic don’t hurt!
Her new film
Just back from the Jaipur Literature Week where she took part in deliberations alongside seasoned author Kunal Basu, on whose short story she is making her latest film, “The Japanese Wife”, Aparna has a sore throat. But she is a picture of dignity and patience, as she starts talking of her new film.
“It is an unusual love story that blossoms through letters. The protagonists — Rahul Bose and Raima Sen — did not see each other, yet loved each other intensely, courtesy the letters they exchanged,” is her description.
That is all very well but how did it all start, considering Kunal Basu is not exactly a screenplay or scriptwriter she would come across? “I was on the look-out for a story and read Kunal’s work. That impressed me. However, Kunal and I did not work for some days initially. I sent him the screenplay as it developed. He shortened it a bit. Then we spent one afternoon together. We sat at a café, discussed the story. Kunal narrated it to me then. It appealed instantly.”
That is fine too, but surely a film’s story, its structure, could not have been worked out over a coffee on a single afternoon? “It was a short story,” she reminds me ever so gently, adding, “because it was a short story, some of the characters needed to be fleshed out for the movie. However, I took no artistic liberties while making the film. I just developed the story.”
Urban and cosmopolitan
So nicely did the story develop that Aparna, whose last film “15 Park Avenue” was critically acclaimed but only a partial commercial success, is confident the film will click. “My films are for the multiplex audience. They are not meant for the first-day, first show crowd. Like others, it is more of an urban film, a cosmopolitan film.”
The film is likely to have an international release later this year though Aparna feels it might be too early to talk in terms of the release strategy or even the number of prints. What is not a shade early to talk of is how the film has shaped, based as it is on Basu’s short story, brought out as a book by Harper Collins recently.
“There has been no pressure to live up to the book simply because the book has only come out now. And whatever media talk about the story earlier also took off after the film was launched. Anyway, it is a short story, not an epic. So, the question of any larger-than-life depiction does not arise. I feel people will start loving the characters in the film. There is a lot of humour, understated of course. It will endear itself to the masses. And the novelty of the subject of falling in love through letters will fascinate quite a few.”
Favourite actor
Adding to the fascination, says Aparna (whose films “Gulel” and “The Jewellery Box” have for long been talked about without making their way to the turnstiles) will be Rahul Bose. Since “Mr. and Mrs. Iyer” he is her favourite. “He is good. There is a lot of trust between us. Once you have that understanding, things become easier,” is how she sums up her rapport with Bose .
Bose is not the only one she shares a fine rapport with. Ask the discerning audiences. They understand and appreciate her cinema. Patiently they await “The Japanese Wife”.
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