3 years of ‘Haami’: Guess who convinced Shiboprosad and Nandita to make ‘Haami’ ahead of ‘Konttho’

Child artist Brata Banerjee became an overnight star when ‘Haami’ released in 2018. The Nandita Roy-Shiboprosad Mukherjee completes 3 years today and everyone associated with the film feels nostalgic. When we spoke of Shiboprosad he shared an interesting story with ETimes.
“We were auditioning child actors for Konttho. So, when Brata Banerjee walked in, I had not even looked up.I read his name aloud and said, ‘Bratada kemon achho?’ His instant retort was, ‘Bolo Shibuda, ami keno ekhane achhi kichhui bujhte parchhina’. When I asked him if he would like to recite a poem (it could well be a nursery rhyme), he chose Shakti Chattopadhyay’s Abani Bari Achho. I must admit that I had not met such a talent before. Eventually, we put Konttho on hold and immediately started working on the script of Haami,” said the filmmaker adding that Brata had become a superstar on the sets.
‘Haami’ became a runaway hit winning many a million hearts and emerged as the highest-grossing Bengali film of 2018. Haami is a story of two friends Bhutu and Chini who belong to a completely different background. While Bhutu's parents Laltu and Mitali are rich furniture-shop owners who are accustomed to popular culture, Chini's parents Srinjoy and Rina are bright academicians - elite and more sophisticated.
Despite all these differences, Bhutu and Chini become best friends. But as luck would have it, a critical situation arises where when Bhut and Chini’s parents separate them and their friendship suffers. Arundhati, the young vice-principal-cum-student counselor of their school, attempts to make them realize what’s happening, but will she succeed? Will the adults accept the playful innocence of the children? That’s what forms the crux of the film.
‘Haami’ comes with an eye-candy cast including Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Gargi Roy Choudhury, Koneenica Banerjee, Tanushree Shankar, Aparajita Addhya, Churni Ganguly, Kharaj Mukherjee, Sujay Mukhopadhyay and many others.