The soon to be released Bengali film Amazon Obhijaan – with a budget of Rs 20 crore – is the most expensive Bengali film ever produced, surpassing its prequel, Chander Pahar - the highest Bengali box office grosser till date. Directed by Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, Amazon Obhijaan represents an explorer's quest for adventure, of discovery and unrelenting courage, survival, loss and pain. But above all, it is a tale of universal human bonding and the wisdom that an individual gains...
Kamaleshwar Mukherjee in conversation with Nandini Guha:
Is the plot of your film based on a real-life story?
The story begins in Amazon in 1913 with the shipwreck of The Witch of Endor, killing a group of Garimpeiros or Gold Hunters. A sealed bottle with an ancient coded map of El Dorado, locked in the vault, sinks into the riverbed of Rio Solimoes along with the ship. Marco Florian, an Italian adventurer, possessor of the map and the sole survivor gets washed ashore at Miratinga. Attacked by a panther, Marco faints but not before witnessing his saviours, The Virgins of the Sun – the mythical women warriors of Amazon.
Two years later, Marco Florian's daughter Anna, a young anthropologist, approaches the Bengali explorer Shankar Choudhury, requesting him to join for an expedition. It's a journey to the heart of Amazon, to discover the ethnic Yanomami people and the hidden city of gold, El Dorado. Shankar readily accepts Anna's request and an enthralling yet long and arduous journey begins. Laden with natural difficulties, wild animals, savage tribes, and vicious gold diggers, the explorers travel thousands of miles to reach the mythical city. Shankar succeeds in his search for a new adventure. On his way, he single-handedly overcomes every odd and fights off every danger ranging from a menacing Black Caiman to a gigantic Anaconda.
Tell us about your cast?
While the film story, screenplay and direction are done by me, whereas, Dev, Svetlana Gulakova, and David James comprise the cast. Dev has already played Shankar in Chander Pahar but he surpasses himself in this film. Svetlana excels in her role too.
How difficult was it to shoot in the Amazon region?
The landscape made it very difficult and risky for us to shoot in. We shot for over a year and used a local production team. Before that, we recced a number of rainforests since we were looking for a new jungle as the location for this film. Actually, the film's post-production was an arduous process as I have used a lot of special effects and animation in the film.
Did the location help you?
Yes, it did. The Amazon has everything….Rainforests, jungle, waterfalls, archipelago, wildlife, flora and fauna…all that one needs to shoot an adventure flick.
What kind of marketing strategy have you planned for the film?
Amazon Obhijaan will be released in multiple languages. SVF has granted us a liberal budget (Rs 20 crore) and the film's poster launch has been huge. We are looking at an international market here.