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Bengali cinema’s first superhero is more human
The film Aranyadeb stars Jisshu Sengupta and Mir and will be directed by Debasish Sen Sharma.
How many of us have wanted to become Batman or Superman in our childhood? Director Debasish Sen Sharma had always wanted to a superhero in school.
Later, he went onto pursue a career in advertising but his fantasy of becoming a superhero never died. Today, he is all set to make his solo directorial debut with a superhero film, Aranyadeb, a first in Bengali cinema.
But if you think Sharma’s superhero is somewhat like our home-grown superhero Krrish, who wears a mask and save lives, you are wrong. “My version of superhero is not the one you watch in films or read in comic books. He is someone who we might know and have seen in our daily lives. He is more human and doesn’t wear a mask or a cape,” says Sharma, who made his Bengali film debut as the co-director of Bicycle Kick (2013).
Watch the trailer of Aranyadeb here:
A die-hard fan of the Aranyadeb comic series, the Bengali translation of Phantom, since childhood, Sharma’s film revolves around two characters Aranya (Jisshu Sengupta) and Deb (Mir). He recalls how he used to complete reading the book in three minutes.
However, he also clarifies that this film is not an adaptation of any comic series. Through the two characters, the director has tried to blend two worlds — laidback and progressive — which happily co-exist in Kolkata. “What happens when two friends, with different professional and social backgrounds, meet after 25 years? The film also talks about neo-global Bengalis, who are laidback and at the same time ultramodern and nostalgic. Magic happens on the day the friends meet after years,” says Sharma, who was earlier a journalist and also assisted Srijit Mukherji in his debut film Autograph (2010).
