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.