PAOLI with PROSENJIT shooting for GAUTAM GHOSH'S MONER MANUSH

Lalan Fakir’s nest

Lalan fakir’s life is being played out in the chilapata forests for goutam ghose’s moner manush — a t2 exclusive

A four-hour drive from New Jalpaiguri takes you to the heart of the dense Chilapata forests in north Bengal, where Team Goutam Ghose is shooting for Moner Manush. By the banks of Bania river, Bollywood’s ace art director Samir Chanda has created Lalan Fakir’s akhra with some thatched huts and tree houses. The cast and crew are loving it as much as some of the forest’s inhabitants. The elephants, for instance. Some jumbos had playfully flattened Chanda’s creations a few days back. But despite the forest department’s warning to pack up before sundown, Ghose and his team are sweating it out till the mist settles in the dark. And no one’s complaining — neither bearded Prosenjit who’s sitting out for hours with layers of make-up, nor bare-back Paoli whose dress code is just a cotton sari in the chilly hills. t2 takes you around the Moner Manush sets... “Oi dekh, sadhubaba!” cried out a woman from the crowd that had thronged the shooting site, pointing at Prosenjit. With a dark pock-marked face, shoulder-length hair and an untended beard, the Tollywood hero is roaming around incognito on the sets of Moner Manush. “Doing the make-up is the toughest part. I wake up at 4am to start the make-up. The pock marks take a long time. It’s difficult to eat with this make-up on. So I sip juices and have a slice of apple for lunch,” said Prosenjit. He doesn’t mind the commotion, he is so lost in the world of Lalan. So even when he doesn’t have any shots, Prosenjit potters around the sets, sometimes humming a song and sometimes watching his co-actors quietly from a corner. Taking in the river breeze, Prosenjit spends his spare time strumming the ektara under the watchful gaze of his “mentor” Golam Fakir. “I have taught Bumbada how to play the ektara and dance like the bauls,” smiled the fakir from Nadia, who is playing a baul in the film. Paoli rehearses for a song sequence in the akhra. “I am excited as I am dancing in this song. It is the only dance in the film. The famous Bangladeshi singer Farida Parveen has done the playback,” chirped Paoli. On a cold December morning, Ghose made Paoli take a dip in the Bania and traipse along a cobbled forest track with a pitcher full of water resting on her hips. Paoli plays Kamli, a widow who takes shelter in Lalan’s akhra in Shimultala, in the film. “The water was freezing cold!” stammered a drenched Paoli after the shot. “Playing Kamli is a learning experience for me. It’s very difficult to walk with a pitcher brimming with water. The most difficult part is walking up the bamboo steps to the river.” Bangladeshi fashion designer Bibi Russell has done the costumes for Moner Manush along with Ghose’s wife Nilanjana. “It’s my first film project. I have given Bumba (Prosenjit) khadi kurta and dhoti, which he wears like a lungi. I have also given him a tulsi mala, which was a gift for me from a baul singer. I told Bumba that it would be lucky for him,” smiled Bibi. Bangladeshi actor Chanchal, who plays Lalan’s friend Kalua in Moner Manush, is excited about sharing screen space with Prosenjit. “I have grown up watching his films and he is so humble. Look at how he has completely transformed himself!” said Chanchal, who had impressed Ghose with his theatre act back in Bangladesh. For the villagers of Uttar Chokwakheti, who are having their first brush with a film crew, the shoot is turning out to be as much fun as a circus. With the crowd swelling behind him, Ghose, who is also the cinematographer, used a crane to take top shots of Paoli bathing in the river. “I have done the cinematography for all my films. It’s strenuous if you are the director and cinematographer at the same time, but I am habituated. I understand the film better when I shoot myself,” smiled Ghose.

TEEN MURTI

PAOLI'S TEEN MURTI Releasing on Dec.18,2009.

Teen Murti, the bengali feature film written by Late Tapan Sinha and Directed by Raja Sen, starring Ranjit Mullik, Manoj Mitra, Dipankar Dey, Sabitri Chatterjee and Paoli is releasing on December 18, 2009.

Please visit the following website for the details -

http://teenmurtithemovie.com

PAOLI

PAOLI’S BODY WRAP

Wrapped in a silky white satin robe, Paoli Dam shot her 26th ad commercial, for a body oil brand. “I love doing ad shoots. Ad films are fast. We finish the shoot in two-three days and we have to create a character within this short span of time, which is challenging!” she smiles. Paoli is also gearing up to shoot for Moner Manush, Goutam Ghose’s film on Lalan Fakir. She plays Kamli, a widow who joins Lalan’s group. “There’s the hint of a relationship between Lalan and Kamli. But I am excited because I will be shooting in Bangladesh for the film,” says Paoli, who is also looking forward to the release of Sharon Dutta’s Thana Theke Ashchhi and Bratya Basu’s Tara, where she has pretty hatke roles.

Paoli wins Award

Best of Bong

Star Ananda Shera Bangali 2009 awards ceremony at Science City on Friday evening celebrated bong connection at its best

Paoli Dam

The Kalbela star was the Fresh Face of the year. Dressed in a lovely red and white ikkat teamed with a maroon antique gold tie-up blouse, the would-be international star (she will feature in Italo Spinelli’s film Choli Ke Peechhe) was excited. “I am happy to be part of an international project, though I derive satisfaction from working in Bengali films because that’s where my roots are,” said the dusky beauty who received the award from singer Shreya Ghoshal. “I have no inhibitions as an actress,” she stressed.

Thana Theke Aschhi

Two of a kind

Parambrata and Paoli on the sets of Thana Theke Ashchhi. (Aranya Sen) Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Paoli, the lead actors of Sharan Dutta’s Thana Theke Ashchhi, were a little edgy on the sets and not without reason. For January was the last time when Parambrata faced the camera (for 033), before turning director with Jiyo Kaka!. And since Paoli’s character doesn’t have a single dialogue in the film, she was all knotted up to get her body language right. Sweating in the sweltering heat at Bharat Lakshmi Studio on Prince Anwar Shah Road, Parambrata laughed: “Sometimes I think why am I in front of the camera? I should be behind it!” Paoli chirped: “I am enjoying my work more than ever before. My character goes through various phases. Her interaction with each character in the film is different. The novelty is that she doesn’t utter a single word. That is the most challenging part because I have to emote through my eyes. And since I have no dialogues I am making up my own to suit the scenes.” Paoli and Parambrata have been paired together for the third time in Thana Theke Ashchhi, after Kalbela and Box No. 1313. “We are a lot more comfortable working with each other now,” they chorused. In Thana Theke Ashchhi, Parambrata plays Arin, a filmmaker whom Paoli meets for a job. “Arin is perhaps the only character in the film who truly loves my character. The rest — Rudranil Ghosh, Aloknanda Roy, Srabonti and Dulal Lahiri — look down upon her,” said Paoli. The film also stars Sabyasachi Chakraborty. Though Paoli’s role seems to have shades of Madhabi Mukherjee’s character in the Uttam Kumar-starrer Thana Theke Ashchhi, director Sharan insists his film is inspired by the stage adaptation of Thana Theke Ashchhi. “Paoli is not playing Madhabidi, neither is Benuda (Sabyasachi) playing Uttam Kumar in my film. It was my idea that Paoli’s character shouldn’t have any dialogue in the film,” said Sharan before rushing for the next shot.

KUSHALI NAG

My favourite holiday

My favourite holiday

Paoli Dam,
Actor

I simply love the mountains, a trait that I’ve inherited from my parents who love trekking and have been on many such trips all their lives. So it’s not surprising that my most memorable trip was in the mountains. I was in class ten and my school arranged a trip to Nainital, Almora, Kausani and Ranikhet. My friends and I had the most amazing time for those ten days, away from home and parents — it was my first taste of unadulterated freedom. In fact, I had the greatest time looking at the cute guys there!

Paoli and Prosenjit

Paoli and Prosenjit are trying hard to ‘Bangla Bachao’

Prosenjit and Paoli shoot for Bangla Bachao

Anup Sengupta’s new venture ‘Bangla Bachao’ is about protesting against the social evils. Earlier, the youngsters were a potent factor in our society but now, they are no longer interested in protesting against the social evils. The film questions why this is so. Prosenjit plays Ashutosh, the protagonist in the film , Pauli plays a reporter, Vivek a minister’s son and Parno plays the role of Vivek’s love interest.

She Dares

She dares - Paoli gears up for her first international film.

From being just another face on television to playing the seductive Madhabilata in Goutam Ghose’s Kalbela. From bagging a bold international project to launching her blog. Paoli Dam is on a roll. On the night of her blog, (paolidam.blogspot.com) launch, the dusky beauty spoke to t2 about Choli Ke Peeche, sharing screen space with her favourite actor Irrfan and more... From bagging an international project to launching your blog. Are you the most happening actress of Tollywood? Not really! I just felt like launching my blog. It’s common now. Everybody is doing it. My blogspot will have all information about my films and my releases. I will interact with my fans and will only post something personal if I think it would interest them. How does it feel to be part of an international film so early in your career? Great! I have always tried to do good work. I met Choli Ke Peeche director Italo Spinelli twice in Calcutta. He liked me and took my photographs too. Prior to that I had mailed them my pictures and that’s how the project happened. You are supposed to go topless for the film. Wouldn’t it be risky for a Tollywood star? No. See, I have read the script and I did not find anything objectionable. And it’s not that my character in the film roams around topless all the time! It’s not exactly what Raghu Rai’s painting titled Sensuous Baby is. That’s just a reference point. There is a breast-feeding scene. But I know that the scene will be shot aesthetically, as Blasco Giurardo of the Oscar winning Italian film Cinema Paradiso is the DoP of Choli Ke Peeche. And I have said earlier too that I don’t have inhibitions doing bold scenes. I had a lovemaking scene in Kalbela. I am also doing a couple of bold scenes in Sharan Dutta’s Thana Theke Ashchhi. And honestly it’s an international film and will be made for the international market. The Indian audience wouldn’t get to see the bold scenes! (Laughs). Both Nandana Sen and Shahana Goswami had rejected the role because of the topless scene... Yes, Shahana, I heard, had date problems. I don’t know about Nandana. I guess they wanted a fresh face. That’s why they have preferred me. How have your colleagues from the industry reacted to you being part of Choli Ke Peeche? Bumbada (Prosenjit), Jisshu (Sengupta), Goutamda (Ghose) and others have congratulated me. How excited are you to share screen space with Irrfan? Irrfan is a very intense and sensitive actor. I am looking forward to working with him. I loved him in Life in a... Metro and Dil Kabaddi. Most of my portions will be shot in Purulia. What are your forthcoming projects? In the pipeline is a film each with Bappaditya Bandopadhyay, Goutam Ghose, Anjan Das and others.

KUSHALI NAG

Lead roll
Comment Buzz up! Share Facebook! Digg it! Newsvine! Rdi! Del.icio.us! Technorati! Email Print Paoli Dam Bengali actor Paoli Dam is now slated to replace Nandana Sen as the lead of an Indo-Italian project. An adaptation of Jnanpith Award winner Mahasweta Devi’s Choli Ke Peeche, the film is being directed by Italo Spinelli and produced by Vinod Kumar. Playing it safe when asked if she was comfortable doing a nude scene, she said, “I’ve read the script but I won’t comment.” Now, where have we heard that before? —Compiled by Jhilmil Motihar

Paoli in Spinelli's Film

Paoli all set to cast as tribal woman

By admin • Jun 11th, 2009 • Category: Actress, Features

Paoli Dam for choli ke peeche

Paoli Dam all set to cast as tribal woman in an international project. The producer of the film, Vinod Kumar, confirmed having Paoli for this Italo Spinelli’s adaptation of Mahasveta Devi’s Choli Ke Peche .Pauli’s performance in Goutam Ghose’s Kaalbela had impressed the makers but what finally turned the tide in Paoli’s favour is her dusky Indian looks.Choli Ke Peechhe is about a tribal woman (Paoli) who is shot topless by a photographer (Irrfan), triggering trouble for both.

The role had been offered to both Nandana Sen and Sahana Goswami, who reportedly passed up the project because they were shy of showing too much. But Paoli has no such objection doing bold scenes and she is exited about it. It’s an international film and international stars do such scenes often, so Paoli as an actor has no inhibitions with anything at all.

KAALBELA

Kaalbela

Pauli and Parambrata are excellent in Kaalbela

Goutam Ghose’s Kaalbela - it’s impossible not to dwell on Samaresh Majumdar’s original novel. While treating this formidable political tome, Ghose turns his movie into a prism.

Kaalbela is an eminently watchable film. Beautiful. Sad. Entirely credible. Through much of the understated violence there is the balladic refrain of flowing water. Of the symbolic use of the still buoy on the Ganges, unaffected by the turbulence all around. Here, on the Ganges, the two protagonists first express their love for each other. And it’s the same Ganges that at the end of the movie gets blooded by the setting sun. That can’t be a coincidence.

The acting, in spite of Kaalbela being made for television, is surprisingly natural and understated. Shantilal as Subhasda, Soumitra as Animesh’s tetchy yet lovable grandfather, Santu as the father, Anandi as Nila, Rudranil as the poet with shades of Shakti Chattopadhyay in the rendering , they are all good. But Parambrata and Pauli, as Animesh and Madhabilata, are brilliant. In two scenes, particularly , Pauli wrenches your heart.

Topless

TOPLESS!

Paoli Dam

Paoli Dam is going topless.

After screening a bevy of Indian beauties, Italian director Italo Spinelli has chosen the dusky Paoli to play a tribal woman — in his forthcoming film Choli Ke Peechhe, based on a short story by Mahasweta Devi.

“I have gone through the script in detail. There are a few bold scenes , but as an actor I have no inhibitions with anything at all. Besides, it’s an international film and international stars do such scenes often,” said Paoli, who has been finalised, though she hasn’t signed the contract yet.

“I am really excited! It’s my first international project and I have always dreamt of being a part of an international project,” smiled the girl from Golf Club Road.

To be shot in Calcutta and Purulia from August, the film in English stars Irrfan Khan, Samrat Chakrabarti, Seema Rahmani, Tilottama Shome and Dibyendu

Choli Ke Peechhe is about a tribal woman (Paoli) who is shot by a photographer (Irrfan), triggering trouble for both.

Picture by Pabitra Das; Make-up: Aniruddha Chakladar; Styling: Sandy

Playing it right

Write a blog on this subject

Actress Paoli Dam made her mark in Kalbela and she has a jampacked schedule in the coming months, says Promita Mukherjee

Paoli Dam has a jampacked schedule in the coming months.

Paoli Dam’s phone has been ringing off the hook ever since the day Kalbela was released. Her performance as Madhabilata has brought her squarely into the limelight and directors and audience and critics alike have started taking notice of this dusky alumnus of Loreto, Bowbazar. “Everybody needs a platform — Kalbela gave me the platform. I had to prove myself,” says Paoli.

We’ll be seeing a lot of Paoli in the coming months as four of her movies — including Rituparno Ghosh’s Shob Choritra Kalponik — are about to be released. Apart from Ghosh’s movie, there’s Mallickbari where she plays a girl who suffers from an inferiority complex because of her looks. Also, there’s Box No. 1313 in which she’s cast opposite Parambrata Chatterjee and the Swapan Saha-directed Jamairaja where she romances Prosenjit.

Her diary’s also jampacked for the next few months. She’s shooting for Anup Sengupta’s Bangla Bachao, again with Prosenjit, Hurumtal (opposite Jishhu Sengupta), Alive, a crime thriller in which she plays a CID officer with Victor Banerjee and Sabyasachi Chakraborty and the late Tapan Sinha’s Teen Murti, now being directed by Raja Sen.

“I’m doing all kinds of films and all kinds of characters. I don’t want to get typecast,” insists Paoli. “My characters should convey something,” she adds.

Even though she’s being billed as the next big thing in Tollywood, Paoli comes across as an intelligent girl-next-door. She’s smartly dressed in summer staple whites and she chats about everything from the weather to the fact that she doesn’t read much. Movies and music are her interests, she says. “I’m not much of a book person,” she confides, apologetically.

Paoli insists that she had never really wanted to be an actress. Academics were her first choice and even in her early days in the television industry, this Science College student could often be spotted revising chemical formulae on the sets. “I wanted to do research. I’m here just because of my mother who wanted me to become an actress. But now acting has become a passion,” says Paoli.

Though the spotlight has turned on her after Kalbela, this isn’t her first big screen role. But, her first movie, Teen Yaari Katha, hasn’t been released yet. The petite 20-something has also done bit roles in hit movies like I Love You, Agni Pariksha and Tulkalam.

Director Buddhadeb Dasgupta, who directed Paoli in some of his tele-serials, is all praise for her. “She acts from her intellect and intuition. These things don’t happen together all the time. She’s surprising and unique,” he says.

Kalbela happened to Paoli out of the blue when she got a call from Gautam Ghose’s production manager asking her to meet the director. “I thought he was joking and even asked him whether he meant director Gautam Ghose,” she laughs.

In the event, she didn’t have to do a screen test. “Gautamda took some of my photographs. There was also a make-up test,” she says. Then there was a script reading session and Paoli was given the thumbs-up.

Paoli says that she didn’t make special preparations for her performance. “I think Madhabilata is someone who’s there inside every girl. That helped me a lot. The rest of the credit goes to Gautamda. Also the atmosphere on the set inspired me,” she asserts.

Paoli started out in television back in 2003. Her first serial was Jibon Niye Khela for ETV Bangla. She subsequently starred in popular mega-serials like Tarpor Chand Uthlo, Sonar Harin, Tithir Atithi and Jaya. “I’ve learnt a lot from television. It has groomed me,” she acknowledges.

Tithir Atithi, in which she played a negative character, was a major turning point in her career. “People started noticing me after that and my work started getting appreciated,” she says. She continued to do mega-serials and movies simultaneously till 2007 after which she decided to take the plunge.

Growing up in a joint family in Bowbazar in central Kolkata, Paoli was a regular at Shishu Rangan and started doing theatre at a very early age. Later, she also took dance lessons from Thankamani Kutti. “I loved doing theatre and didn’t even mind missing out on parties to do it,” she says.

Was it difficult getting a toehold in the industry? Paoli insists she didn’t have to struggle very much. “I was accepted wherever I went. And I was lucky to get good and supportive directors and co-actors,” she says.

She’s shifted from Bowbazar to Tollygunge now but misses Bowbazar. “We lived in a joint family and had a lot of fun,” she says nostalgically. She also misses being able to eat whatever she feels like. “I’d never say no to even two or three pieces of fish. But now I have to watch what I am eating and it’s a torture,” she rues.

What’s a normal day like for her? When she’s not shooting, Paoli prefers to stay at home and rest, watch films and listen to music. World movies are a favourite. She’s also quite a fitness freak nowadays, thanks to another sultry Bengali beauty named Bipasha Basu. “I used to watch her during the shooting of Shob Charitra Kalponik and how she never missed out on her daily exercise routine,” says Paoli, who now trains at the Karma gym with a personal trainer.

Paoli is also keen to learn more about her trade. She says she needs to shape up more, study, watch good films and talk to directors to pick up the finer nuances of her profession. “But the best tool for learning is watching films,” she says.

She has a keen interest in how films are made and she would like to go behind the camera and become a director someday. For now though, Paoli Dam is happy putting on the greasepaint and dancing around trees.

FILMOGRAPHY

KAALBELA -
Director - Gautam Ghosh, Story - Samaresh Majumder
Co stars - Soumitra Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rudranil Ghosh, Santu Mukhopadhyay, Anandi Ghosh.

SOB CHARITRA KALPONIK -
Director - Rituparno Ghosh
Co stars - Bipasha Basu, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jishu Sengupta, Sohag Sen

HOCHHE TA KI -
Director - Basu Chatterjee
Co stars - Prosenjit Chatterjee, Arunima Ghosh, Rajatabh Datta, Ramaprasad Banik.

JAMAI RAJA -
Director - Swapan Saha. Producer- Ashoke Dhanuka
Co Stars - Prosenjit Chatterjee, Anu Chowdhury.

TEEN MURTI -
Director - Raja Sen , Story- Tapan Sinha
Co Stars - Manoj Mitra, Dipankar Dey, Ranjit Mullik, Joy.

AMAR PRATIGYA -
Director - Swapan Saha
Co stars - Priyanshu Chatterjee, Priyanka Trivedi, Rajatava Dutta, Subhasish Mukherjee.

BANGLA BACHAO -
Director - Anup Sengupta.
Co stars - Prosenjit Chatterjee, Dipankar Dey, Subhasish Mukherjee.

THANA THEKE ASHCHI -
Director - Saron Datta
Co Stars - Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Parambrata Chatterjee,Rudranil Ghosh, Dulal Lahiri, Alokananda Roy.

BOX No. 1313
Director - Aniruddha Bhattacharya.
Co stars - Parambrata Chatterjee,Monami Ghosh, June Maliah, Sudeshna Roy, Biswajit Chakraborty.

MULLIK BARI
Director - Anirban Chakraborty
Co stars - Kanchan Mallik, Rishi Kaushik. Swarnakamal. Ritwik, Rimjhim Mitra, Aparajita Ghosh Das, Biswanath.

I LOVE YOU
Producer - Shree Venkatesh Films, Screenplay - N.K. Salil, Director - Ravi Kinagi
Co stars - Dev, Payel Sarkar, Tapash Pal.

AGNI PARIKSHA-
Director - Ravi Kinagi
Co stars - Prosenjit Chatterjee, Priyanka Trivedi.

TULKALAM -
Director - Haranath Chakraborty.
Co stars - Mithun Chakraborty, Rachana Banerjee, Amitabh Bhattacharya

TEEN YAARI KATHA -
Director - Avijit Guha, Sudeshna Roy
Co Stars - Parambrata Chatterjee, Rudranil Ghosh, Sujan Mukhopadhyay, Saswata Chatterjee, June Maliah, Rimjhim Mitra, Gargi Roy Chowdhury.