Probashi- Cover Story
Probashi- Cover Story
Excerpts from Production Controller ’ s Diary
18 February 2012 : It ’ s been more than two months since I made an entry in the diary . Was busy shooting for Shunyo Awnko in the vicinity of Ajodha hills , Purulia . We got Santhal tribals from the nearby villages to act in the film . I and my team would go door to door urging the Adivasis to come and join the shooting . During outdoor shoots people always collect to watch the filming , here however there was no such curiosity . It was later did I realise the reason . The tribals had never seen a movie in their lives and neither has television penetrated these deep remote parts of the country . Cinema is completely alien to them . One thing which struck me is that the tribal women folk are much more empowered than their non tribal counterparts . They readily joined the shooting . One reason why the film shoot was attractive for the people who joined in was because we used to serve food . In these parts where people live in abject poverty a full meal is a bonanza . We were paying Rs . 150 per person to those who joined the shooting , to our surprise many of them would forget to collect this payment , and we would have to go to their homes to give the money . Quid pro quo which is a norm in our modern world is yet to be enforced with rigour in the lives of simple tribal folk . We were their guests , and they expected nothing in return . The entire film crew of Shunyo Awnko stood humbled .
8 August 1998 : I am back in Kolkata literally drenched , because for last four months we have been virtually chasing the monsoon for a documentary sponsored by the meterological department , which shows how monsoon progresses in the country and how people react to the reains . Myself along with documentary film maker Bappa
Ray , Sanjay Agarwal the cameraman and our driver been driving through the swathes of India chasing the monsoon backed by the predictions being provided by the meteorological department . It had been about a fortnight since we latched onto the rains in Kerala and were now in Goa expecting the monsoon to keep her date with us . The local meterological departmentin Goa referred to their headquarter in Delhi , where after some serious number crunching in the super computers it was conveyed back that the rains were still ten days away . We were stuck , without rains what were we to shoot . As we were taking some stray shots on the streets of Panaji , a curious middle‐aged man ( a Fisherman ) approached us and enquired about our project . On learning that we were to shoot the monsoon , he looked up and then remarked that the rains will start next day morning . We brought up to treat technology as God dismissed the man ’ s prediction . And lo and behold next morning it started raining and we with relief started filming . Wait of seven days as predicted by the Met department was not needed . And the Goans responded to the rains with colourful raincoats unlike in Kolkata where one only sees black umbrellas . It was a feast for the camera . And we came back our faith in the traditional knowledge restored ; the computers and satellites of the Met department for once could not match the prowess of traditional wisdom .
16 June 2002 : Back to penning the diary after 2 week hiatus . Last two weeks was spent with luck and no luck , at the same time , ironical as it may seem . Let me write this saga of luck and no luck running concurrently . In film lingo there is a term called “ Cameraman ’ s Luck ”. It is said that the best cinematographers all over the world are also the luckiest ones , because having the best technical and composing skills are not enough if the sequence they want to shoot does not present itself . E . g . if a flock of geese in flight has to be captured in film , you would need the geese and you would need them to be fly , and if you are not lucky you will never find the flying flock despite your best camera equipment and years of experience and training . In my experience of the entire director ’ s I have worked with two directors – Goutam Ghose and Buddhadeb Dasgupta are really blessed with “ Cameraman ’ s luck ”. However in our shoot for Abaar Araney ( spread over last 2 weeks ), ‘ Cameraman ’ s luck ” seemed to have suddenly deserted Gautamda . This is what happened . Gautamda , Rojotava Dutta , Shashwata Chakraborty , Jishu Sengupta and the crew with our equipment in a convoy of three cars headed to Jayantinodi in the jungles of Alipurdoar to film the sequence where Rojotava , Shashwata and Jishu are unable to cross the river due to sudden flash floods . Jayantinodi is known for having flash flood with furious swirling currents during monsoons whenever it rains in the upper reaches of Bhutan . Now this was monsoon time and it was raining incessantly , catching Jayantinadi in full spate during monsoon was an axiom and Gautamda was very sure that we would wrap up the shooting in one day . And as predicted when we reached the river it was in full spate , the water furiously splashing on to the boulders , and eddy current in swift swirl , it was a river in full rage , something I was seeing for the first time . Apparently as usual it appeared that Goutamda ’ s ‘