“Make Cinema from your own experience. Don’t borrow.”- exclaims Mr. Abhijit Guha in his interview session who is known for his films like Teen Yaari Kotha, Cross Connection, Hercules and recently released Ekla Cholo re in association with Sudeshna Roy.
1. What motivated you to be a part of this field of entertainment?
Ans: I was always interested in Theatre, photography and eventually Cinema. I was basically passionate about acting from a tender age. I started with acting in plays from my school life followed by stage, thereby attracting me more to do something large. So, beside acting, I took up Photography when I use to study in sixth standard. There is an institution called “Chitrobani” where I availed myself there going regularly and thereby gained knowledge about world cinema. I love reading books related to film-making as well as watching films which made me obsessive about being a film-maker after years from then. I started my career as an assistant Director of Photography and worked for an year in Kolkata followed by ten more years in Mumbai. Coming back to Kolkata, I reallocated my course of work from cinematography to be a film-maker as by time, love and curiosity of making a film couldn’t stop me from being a film director.
2. When did you start working with your co-director Sudeshna Roy?
Ans:- It was much later. It was around August in 1994 when satellite television just pioneered in Bengal. We started working for Zee TV. We were given a two hours slot in the evening where we started working for Manabi, a women magazine which was divided in four different shows of half an hour each when we both collaborated in film-making and it completed 1200 episodes eventually. It was followed by 52 documentaries for children followed by films.
3. You have been working for around 21 years in collaboration with your co-director Sudeshna Roy. So how is it to work with her for such a long time and even now?
Ans:- Basically, after working for 21 years, it is quite difficult for me to express my feelings in just a few words. Our bonding as a film-maker is really successful for which we are still together and hopefully it continues in the future too.
4. Apart from directing films, what are your other interests?
Ans:- To speak the truth, I was always interested in Cinema. Basically watching films and get to learn something from it concerned me a lot.. Apart from watching films, I got myself involved in theater and learn about different art forms. I do love reading books, especially literature. I wrote reviews for film in newspapers and magazines like Anandalok and Pratidin.
5. You have been working with NIdeas in back-to- back films. How is it to work with this production?
Ans:- Nideas is basically a production house of Mr. Prosenjit Chatterjee and I am associated with him for the last twenty-five years. We got the opportunity to direct our first television work only because of him. It was him who was behind getting our first film and followed by Teen Yaari Kotha who produced it. So, we basically share a good rapport with him as well as the production house. It is like working in some family business. After Ekla Cholo which was our first production with Zee bangla originals, this is our 3rd one while it is his eighth one.
6.What are your upcoming projects?
Ans:- Basically, of now, there are two projects with Zee Bangla Cinema to get its release and even we have another film awaiting its release. Now, we are planning for a film on old-age home and one on re-incarnation. Maintaining the comic genre in our films, we want to showcase some new topics with means of entertaining people.
7.Any message for upcoming budding Directors.
Ans:- I think people must make cinema from their experience not by borrowing. Go for something realistic .These are two things I do follow myself too.
Laughalaughi.com wishes Mr Abhijit Guha all the best for his upcoming releases and hopes that he, along with Sudeshna Roy, keeps on entertaining people with their atypical and unique films as usual.
Content Writing : Abhigyan Mukherjee Original Copyright © 2014-2015 LaughaLaughi.com
