‘Chander Pahar’ promises adventure shots not seen before

Kolkata: Shot in South Africa, ‘Chander Pahar’, based on Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay`s 1909-era eponymous novel, promises to pack adventures and thrills never seen in Bengali films.

First Indian film to be extensively shot in South Africa, its hero Deb said that he and other members of the movie unit spent 45 days shooting scenes like an encounter with a lion and climbing steep mountains with shots of horse riding thrown in good measure. "During my shoot with the lion, I went closer than what director Kamaleswar Mukhopadhyay had wanted. And he reprimanded me on this count. Once I also fell from a horse and wounded myself," Deb said. He said that Shankar, the protagonist, was an athlete and a boxer. He never flinches from any challenge or danger. Be it fighting the African lion or duelling on the cliff, and that too without a body double." Talking about the director of ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’ fame Deb said, "Many filmmakers had in the past wished to put on celluloid this 1909-era novel, dwelling on the exploits of teenaged adventurer Shankar, but couldn`t. With this knowledge I was really surprised when Kamaleswar approached me for the role." Kamaleswar on his part said that Deb, an established star in Bengali films, was an automatic choice for him, though he was typecast in the commercial genre. ‘Chander Pahar’ will be released on December 20.