Nostalgia brings the Soham-Srabanti duo back to the big screen, now revolving around the story of Durganagar. The shooting for this popular duo’s new film will begin in March, directed by Saptashw Basu. The director recently spoke with Indian Express Online about the film.
The director shared that Durganagar is being made around an intriguing story, where the exceptional performances of Soham and Srabanti will captivate the audience. He has high hopes for the film and believes it will offer viewers a unique experience.
In Durganagar, Soham and Srabanti will be seen in slightly different roles. Srabanti will play Gayatri, a dance school teacher in a hilly village. In this village, where it never rains, orphaned children struggle to survive. Gayatri not only teaches them dance but also takes on the role of their guardian.
Soham will portray Rudra, a researcher who travels to remote villages, using advanced technology to alleviate people’s suffering. Though he is cold in nature, he becomes terrifying when angry. The characters of Rudra and Gayatri are modern symbolic representations of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga.
The title of the film Durganagar holds deep meaning. It is a women-centric film. The shooting will begin in March. Srabanti will play the character of Gayatri. Gayatri is a dance teacher in a hilly village, where she teaches orphaned children dance and takes on the role of their guardian. Gayatri also fights to protect Durganagar from the hands of evil forces.
The story will revolve around Gayatri’s struggles. Like Goddess Durga, Gayatri too stands against corruption and evil. Just like we see the battle between Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, and demons during Durga Puja, this film will present these three characters in a modern form.
Soham and Srabanti are big stars in Tollywood. So far, they have not faced any tantrums. They have been working on their looks, reading the script, and rehearsing, but they haven’t yet gone to the shooting set. So far, everything is going well. The work we’ve done together, including the first look shoot, has been smooth. I’m lucky, and there have been no issues.
Soham and Srabanti have been working in the industry for a long time. They have received good schooling, and they work with a true passion for cinema. They are doing whatever is necessary to deliver a good film to the audience. We also have a new artist with us, Sanghapriyo, who is playing the character of Asur. Soham and Srabanti have been very supportive and have been preparing themselves for their roles since the character selection, discussing things with me as well.
Initially, Soham and Srabanti were not ready to accept the proposal for the film. However, fortunately, they agreed quickly. Srabanti gave her preliminary consent after hearing about the project over the phone, and Soham agreed after a meeting. I’m grateful to both of them because, as soon as they understood the characters, they began working on their looks. One thing I really appreciate is that they never thought about money first. Instead, their focus was always on the work itself. This is the real reward.
Although this is a film from a new production house, I want it to be released during the Durga Puja period. Although I know that bigger production houses will have more screens during that time, the film will be based on the theme of Durga Puja, so it would be ideal for it to be released then.
Every producer experiences a healthy competition when it comes to releasing films during Puja. One must take some risks. Maybe Devda’s movie will be released in 50 theaters, while my film may only be released in 20 theaters. However, the promotion of Devda’s Khaadan was truly exceptional, and it was a much-needed success for Bengali cinema.
My wish is that, if there are 100 theaters, Bengali films should be playing in all of them. Hindi or South Indian films should not dominate the theaters and push Bengali cinema into a corner.
