T'mas replaces Darwin in 'Mushrooms'

Bond actor Darwin Shaw, who was supposed to act in 'Mushrooms', is being replaced by T'mas Lemarquis. Darwin had to opt out because of visa-related problems.
Darwin Shaw of 'Casino Royale' fame, who was supposed to make his Bengali feature film debut with Vimukthi Jayasundara's 'Mushrooms', has opted out of the film. The reason has nothing to do with the movie's creative aspects.Darwin has had problems procuring his visa. Since sorting out the problems would take time, it's been mutually decided to replace him with another international actor. Icelandic actor T'mas Lemarquis, who is best known for the Oscar nominated 2003
Icelandic film titled 'Noi the Albino', will be arriving today to begin shooting for the film.
Says 'Mushrooms' producer Vinod Lahoti, 'Darwin was on board but problems cropped up regarding his visa. We tried a lot but things didn't fall in place. Darwin told me it would take at least another seven-eight weeks before the formalities are completed. I have an e-mail from Darwin where he says that since his late father (though from Amritsar) was a Pakistani before moving to the UK in 1962, a security check about his background has to be done by the authorities before his visa is issued. Those formalities would take time and our shooting would get delayed. Darwin is supposed to have even contacted Sir Ben Kingsley and sought his help to expediate the process. But, it would still have taken some time.' Since Vimukthi has to leave for the post-production of the movie in Vietnam on December 16, the unit couldn't wait that long for the issue to get sorted out. That's how T'mas entered the picture.
Apparently, Darwin had himself suggested that other options be considered for his role since he didn't want the shooting to get delayed. Vimukthi then went on to cast Icelandic actor T'mas Lemarquis to play the Spanish soldier. T'mas is the son of French actor G'rard Lemarquis. His most distinguishing physical feature ' his bald head ' is the result of him losing his hair at the age of 13 to alopecia universalis. T'mas' 'Noi the Albino' has been an official selection at Telluride, Toronto, Chicago and Rotterdam international film festivals. It has also won as many as 18 international awards.
Says director Bappaditya Bandopadhyay, who is also the executive producer of 'Mushrooms', 'T'mas knows Vimukthi very well. T'mas had done the critically-acclaimed Icelandic film called 'Desember'. He is now the jury at the Belgrade Film Festival. He will be flying in from Belgrade to Kolkata today. T'mas has a World War II look in our movie.'
Meanwhile, shooting for 'Mushrooms' has been on in full swing. 'Vimukthi insisted on shooting some scenes at a country liquor shop at Ganja Park. That location has a special significance for him because of its association with Ritwik Ghatak. Apart from shooting all over the city including Rajarhat and the north Kolkata bylanes, we have also recreated a Durga Puja scene. We had to order an idol for this purpose. Music for the film has been scored by Abhijit Basu. He has also sung bhatiali songs. Prabhati Debi has recorded a 'chhorar gaan' for the film,' Bappaditya adds.
The editing of the film has already begun in Vietnam. The unit will be leaving for Bolpur on December 6. Shooting with T'mas will be held from December 7-14.
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