Pathikrit Basu on Dabaru: The producers and I decided to make a film on chess

The Bengali industry has seen a number of sports dramas, including Koni, Lorai, Champ, Egaro, Champion, Tikitaka, and Golondaj. There are three films on football and one on earache swimming and boxing. As of today, there is no film on chess. Now Pathikrit Basu is all set to fill the gap. He is making a biopic of Grandmaster Surya Sekhar Ganguly. The film is produced by Windows Production of Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee. 

Pathikrit's last film was Kacher Manush where he portrayed the relationship of two unrelated people. Why is the next film on chess? In an interview with Aajkaal Dot In, Pathikrit replied that it was the producers' idea. “I have been talking to Nanditadi and Shibuda (Shiboprosad) for a long time about making a film. They advised me to make a sports film. Then we decided that the film will be on chess, which has never been made before.” He also added that doctors advise Alzheimer's patients to play chess. Chess is mandatory in old-age homes. But chess was not recognized as a sport even a few years back. Surya Sekhar told Pathikrit that he once had a competition abroad and her mother went to people for monetary help. Then some of them mocked her. They sarcastically told her that it is unimaginable how one could ask for money to play chess. “It also happened that Surya Sekhar, after waking up, saw loan sharks at home. They came to get back the money they lent to his mother. It is not easy to be an international player coming from this situation. Hence this is the inspiration for the film,” the director said.  

Pathikrit studied chess last year. He understood the game and discussed it in detail with Grandmasters Surya Sekhar and Dibyendu Barua. He also spent some time in the chess ground under the Gariahat flyover. Surya Sekhar’s mother has been his inspiration, and this part will be played by Rituparna Sengupta. Koushik Sen and Chiranjit will play his two coaches. Dipankar Dey, Paran Bandopadhyay, Sankar Chakraborty, and Biswanath Basu will play other roles. 

Who will play the kid? Pathikrit said that it will be known over time. The film is set in the nineties. Surya Sekhar's house is in Hatibagan. The shooting will take place in Bagbazar. Surya Sekhar will be present to train the actor playing him.