‘We went looking for treasure & found nostalgia at every turn'

Time of India

2 days ago

The three musketeers walk down memory lane with the The Curse of the Philosopher's Stone prop from the filmpics: Anindya Saha
What's better than one brave character on an adventure? Three, of course!
Koel Mallick
,
Parambrata Chattopadhyay
, and
Gaurav Chakrabarty
are back together for the third film of the franchise, Sonar Kellay Jawker Dhan. Jaisalmer's golden sands aren't just scenic but the backdrop of the desert mystery they're chasing.
It's not a remake, but a sun-soaked adventure with a knowing nod to
Satyajit Ray
's Sonar Kella. And behind the scenes? Think Laal maas, post-packup adda, and Parambrata pulling pranks. We caught up with the trio at Kolkata Centre for Creativity, for a freewheeling chat to know how like the Philosopher's Stone in the story, their film promises a treasure trove of fun, friendship, food, and a whole lot of detective dazzle.
Koel channels her character, psychiatrist Dr Ruby
"The people of Jaisalmer are great, and the food is even better. We ate a lot of Dal baati churma & ghee. These two even had Laal maas without me"
– Koel Mallick
Action heroes, but with a twist
Though Parambrata and Gaurav have not embodied action heroes on screen, but Koel says they aced it.
'Both Bimal (Param) and Kumar (Gaurav) have done fantastic action sequences. You've never really seen them do this before, but they've done it marvellously.' To this, Parambrata said: 'An adda session went on till 2am, but we got to know it was a 9am call. I had hardcore action scenes to shoot. It was, to put it plainly, not ideal,' he grinned.
Jaisalmer and Ray's golden touch
Calling Jaisalmer, especially its outskirts, the most beautiful part of the country, Parambrata reflected on the nostalgia associated with Sonar Kella and said, 'Many people got to know about Jaisalmer from Sonar Kella the film.'
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Reflecting on the same train of thought, Gaurav said that he saw Mukul Bari written outside the house in Hindi, adding, 'It's fascinating to see how, even though it's a Bengali name, Mukul Bari was written in hindi.
'
What's a shoot without a few pranks? Outstation shoots are an opportunity to spend more time with co-actors and to pull each other's leg, or as the two men implied, Param pulling Koel's leg! Laughing and disagreeing with this, Koel said, 'Param has a certain way of getting into shoots and then pulling pranks on the team, and thankfully this time it was not me but Shaheb (Chatterjee).'
Parambrata shares fun anecdotes from the shoot
"There's something so emotional about shooting in Jaisalmer. Its vast desert holds a golden memory for many Bengalis"
–Parambrata Chattopadhyay
A grand sleuth reunion
Given their collective detective resumes – Parambrata as Feluda, Koel as Mitin, and Gaurav as Byomkesh and Topshe – stepping into the world of Bimal and Kumar felt like a genre reunion.
'Feluda has a visual reference thanks to Ray's illustrations. Byomkesh doesn't.
So the audience expects tall, charismatic detectives in jackets and dhotis,' explained Param. 'With Bimal and Kumar, we've moved away from Hemendra Kumar Roy's original story after the first film. We've built a world of our own.' Koel chimed in: 'My favourites? Feluda, Byomkesh… and yes, Mitin too, since I've played her.' Gaurav went global with his picks: 'I love Feluda's charm, but Philip Marlowe is another favourite.
Inspired by him, Anjan Dutt even created Rudra Sen.' Param added a contemporary name to the list: 'Cormoran Strike, written by JK Rowling under Robert Galbraith. And yes, Feluda made me feel like I was travelling the world.'
Gaurav with the charmed stones that play a crucial part in the film
We are all Ray fans and Sonar Kella is a part of our pop culture. Shooting in Jaisalmer connected me to the cult film. It felt like I was living a childhood dream
– Gaurav Chakrabarty
When the book hit the floor and the giggles began
Parambrata shared a delightful behind-the-scenes moment with co-star Saheb from the shoot. He recalled a scene and said, 'There is a sequence where Saheb and I meet for the first time, and we bump into each other and the book, The Curse of the Philosopher's Stone, falls and what truly tickled me was Saheb's intense dedication to his acting. Saheb takes his actor self seriously, sometimes very seriously, so every time the book fell, he would pick it up in such a dramatic way and every time he did that, I would giggle a bit.
' Without revealing why, the three also gave us a hint that The Curse of the Philosopher's Stone is an essential part of the storyline.
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