Regret that 'Palan' could be made when Mrinal Sen is no more: Kaushik Ganguly on his latest film

Anjan Dutt said the new film gave the actors an opportunity to relive the memories of their shoot for Kharij.

National Award-winning Bengali director Kaushik Ganguly said his latest flick Palan was a tribute to legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen on his birth centenary.

Speaking to PTI, Ganguly said he regrets that he could make the film when Sen is no more.

The film is based on Sen's 1982 classic Kharij, which won a Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, besides three National Awards. Palan was the name of a child househelp of a middle-class family in Kharij, the plot of which revolves around his sudden death.

Ganguly's film, which will be released on September 22, revolves around a dilapidated Kolkata house, where an accident in which a concrete chunk falls on a character named Palan takes forward the plot.

Ganguly retained Anjan Dutt, Mamata Shankar and Sreela Majumdar in his latest, reprising their roles in the original film.

The audience will get to relive the magnificence of Sen's Kharij, through its characters, with the storyline set some 40 years later, he said.

"We have decided to release Palan on Mrinal Sen's birth centenary year. I had the opportunity to meet Mrinal-da in his lifetime. We have many fond memories. I regret that the decision to make the film was taken when he is no more", he said.

Kharij's narrative had struck me. I was haunted by the question of who was responsible for Palan's death. There is the interplay between consciousness and guilt, said Ganguly, who won National Awards for Apur Panchali, Nagarkirtan and Chhotoder Chhobi.

Dutt said the new film gave the actors an opportunity to relive the memories of their shoot for Kharij.

"As we came together to commemorate the making of Kharij, we got a chance to look back fondly on the experiences we had while working with Sen", said Dutt.

Kharij was an adaptation of Bengali writer Ramapada Chowdhury's 1974 novel of the same name.