In our country, if a person doesn’t want to compromise, his going gets tougher: Buddhadeb Dasgupta

I am sorry I’m late. Maa flyover was suddenly shut down while we were on it,” veteran director Buddhadeb Dasgupta apologised to those present at the media centre on the Nandan premises for the press con of his film, Urojahaj (The Flight). The ace director, along with wife and associate director Sohini Dasgupta, lead actor Chandan Roy Sanyal and production director Ananda Adhya, introduced the film to the audience.

According to the director, Urojahaj is the story of a dreamer. “Just like us, he also dreams. But what happens to our dreams and aspirations? Where do they go? How do they crumble and how does the state throttle our dreams? In our country, the biggest challenge is faced by those who refuse to bend down to power and think independently. If a person doesn’t want to compromise, his going gets tougher. He deals with his obstacles, especially the state. What happens then? Does he lose his dream? That is what the film is all about,” he said. The film also received an award recently at a festival in

London

.
Elaborating on the difficulties that he faced while making this film, he said, “The first difficulty we faced was in finding an aeroplane. Ekta urojahaj jogar kora to chartikhani byapar na. We realised that we have to make it on our own. So, Ananda built the plane. If you watch Urojahaj, you will see the brilliant work he has done. He proved that good work can be done on a limited budget sitting here in Kolkata.”

In fact, Buddhadeb was unwell while shooting the film. “We shot in remote villages, where there were no proper roads. Buddhada kept visiting the hospital between the shoots. It shows that you cannot give up on dreams,” Sohini, who assisted him on the film, said.
As the film was being screened at a packed auditorium at Nandan I on Monday, the director announced his next film. “It deals with the problems that plague us every day. The film is on a woman journalist and deals with the problems she faces at her workplace. She can’t function the way she wants and file reports accordingly. This affects her personal life,” he said, adding, “Chandan is the male lead. The female lead is not finalised yet.”
When asked if it’s about women’s empowerment, he said, “In today’s world, men enjoy certain benefits. But a woman doesn’t get them. She has to struggle. I am writing the film now. I will be busy till Urojahaj releases and then I will finish writing. I will shoot in February and wrap up
by March.”