Rituparna excited about film on human bonding

Rituparna Sengupta is thrilled by the response to her latest release, Atithi. She even had a closed-door gathering at her home recently, where she cut a cake with director Sujit Paul. “At a time when the fate of Bengali films is a matter of serious concern, Atithi ran houseful at Nandan II for 34 consecutive days. That I feel was really heart-warming. Also, when I visited theatres, I was overwhelmed by the audience reaction,” she said.The film revolves around a mental rehabilitation centre — Ashray — where patients are treated as guests as they regain their sanity. Dr Prajnamoy (Rajat Ganguly) and his daughter, Snigdha (Rituparna Sengupta), run this centre. Apart from Rituparna, the cast includes Pratik Sen, Nishan Nanaiah, Saayoni Ghosh, Subhasish Mukherjee, Biswanath Basu, Krishnakishore Mukherjee, Arindal Bagchi, Manoj Mitra and Tulika Basu. The album of the film includes a song, Brishti Elo, by Kumar Sanu. Rupsha and Shaan have rendered another number. “I have always supported young directors and Sujit is one of them. His confidence impressed me a lot. At a time when there’s so much selfishness around, this film makes you think. It’s about people, who have no blood relation with one another, but happen to become a family. There are many who come to this centre and without any direct connect, they share their joys and sorrows. That inspired me a lot. When the joint family structure is breaking down, this story about human bonding still gives us hope,” said the actress.