I'm an ardent Sukumar Ray fan: Amit Sen

Amit Sen's 3D adaptation of Sukumar Ray's HaJaBaRaLa could well be India's answer to the cinematic adaptation of Alice in Wonderland
If Alice in Wonderland is regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces in English nonsense literature, HaJaBaRaLa holds an equally importance place in Indian literature. While Hollywood has already attempted cinematic adaptations of Lewis Carroll's work, Indian directors have still not done the same with this Sukumar Ray (Satyajit Ray's father) novella.
But all that is going to change what with Tollywood's director Amit Sen coming up with a Bengali adaptation of the text. And what more? This will also be the first 3D film to be made in Tollywood.
Ask Sen how he came up with this idea and he says, 'I'm an ardent Sukumar Ray fan and have been toying with this idea for quite some years now. This novella was written decades ago and so there is no copyright issue over it. Goutam Kundu has agreed to produce this movie and he deserves all the credit for backing such a project. I will be off to Mumbai soon to work on the pre-production work.'
Considering that this will be Bengal's first 3D film, how is he going ahead with the work? 'The pre-production work has begun. First we will go for clay animation. Since this will be a stereographic process (3D), a lot of research and development will be involved in this. I'll have to zero in on theatre artistes to finalize on the dubbing lineup so that the story boarding process can begin. Then, I'll go for the main casting,' the 'Notobor Not Out' director says, adding that the recent success of 'Bhooter Bhobishyot' that was made in the comedy genre has also reinforced his decision to attempt such a fantasy in the comic genre.
The story begins with a boy waking up and finding that his handkerchief has turned into a cat. He starts talking to the cat, who speaks nonsensically about a handkerchief and a semicolon before disappearing over the hedge. He tells him to find Kakeshwar Kuchkuche, in a series of calculations that eventually tell him that he is in a tree. Many other characters such as Hijibijbij appear resulting in confusion. Finally, the boy wakes up from his odd dream and finds the cat!
Apart from the challenges of working on a 3D film, the other issue is that this rip-roaring hilarious classic text of Ray also doesn't have any case of crisis and resolve. 'That is a big challenge that I will have to negotiate. I might include some portions from Ray's Abol Tabol as well. Today's children are fed on a diet of Harry Potter and cartoons. But if you give them such interesting stuff, I'm certain that they will lap it up. That's what happens when children go to watch Satyajit Ray or Sandip Ray's Feluda films after their parents take them along because of the latter's nostalgic attachment. My 'HJBRL' has global appeal. The idiom could be Bengali. A phrase like 'Udor pindi Bhudor ghare' might be rooted in Bengal but in the larger perspective, the text has an international appeal in the way it handles nonsense literature. Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska had featured in the 3D version of 'Alice in Wonderland' in Hollywood. I'd be glad if my film, in its own way, can be India's answer to the genre of nonsense movies made in the world.'