Suvojit Roy talks about Bengali Film Jodi Ekdin-Life is Magic

    

Jodi Ekdin-Priyanka Sarkar-Life Is Magic

April 19 (Calcutta Tube) Suvojit Roy, the CEO of OrionEntertainment talks about the Bengali movie Jodi Ekdin directed by Bengali filmmaker Riingo (Arnab Banerjee). Jodi Ekdin, also known as ‘Life Is Magic‘, that is to be promoted in the North America byDatabazaar Media Ventures (DMV) is the debut production venture by Orion in the arena of films. Jodi Ekdin stars Indraneil Sengupta, Priyanka Sarkar, Saheb Chatterjee in lead roles.

“Orion Entertainment’s primary concern is promoting quality contents, whether it is film or music. We are happy to work with Databazaar Media Ventures; Oney (Seal) and his team are being very supportive about the project. This is just the beginning and we intend to do more quality works in future.”

Suvojit, who also is the project designer of Riingo’s Jodi Ekdin says that Orion Entertainment is determined to make films that are totally ‘content level’ and ‘there is no second thought on this’. ”Two types of movies are mainly made in the Bengali film industry: films by directors likeRituparno Ghosh, Aparna Sen, Gautam Ghosh that fetch awards and the other type consists of Bengali potboilers. We are going to work with a third genre. We want our films to be a social platform to educate people, make them think about society and mankind. Even if we do not make huge money, we will still stick to our passions for making good films. Producing films is not only for making money. We really do not believe in making potboilers. Cinema has its own responsibilities as a medium,” emphasizes Suvojit.

Jodi Ekdin -Life is Magic

According to Suvojit, ’urban genre‘ is not the right term to describe the films that Orion Entertainment wants to come up with. ”Since we aim at making quality movies with good contents, our target audience is anyone who is culturally educated. We have cultured folks even in suburbs, semi urban, rural areas, who you do not include in your definition when you use the term ‘urban’. In Orion Entertainment, we emphasize on making films that would have appeal to any sensible mind,” says Suvojit, often referred to as the ‘concept man’ of the entertainment industry.

When asked about working with filmmakers of the stature ofAparna Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Suvojit says “Right now we are not in a position to work with filmmakers of that great statures for various reasons, one of which is of course financial. We would definitely like to work with these great filmmakers in coming years, once we reach that level. We are going to work with the aspiring new directors for the time being.”

    

DEV at Jodi Ekdin Premier

Suvojit feels very optimistic as the market for Bengali films are expanding as never before. “With DMV releasing Jodi Ekdin in the US and Canada, it will be a boon for the Bengali industry. It is sad that we Bengalees are not much concerned about our rich heritage and history and often pay no heed to what is handed down to us. Most of the time we concentrate on films made in languages other than our own and I think this is kind of true globally for Bengalees. We ought to be more respectful about our cultural possessions and inheritance. There are so many talented Bengalees who dominate the global film industry and it will be a great exposure for the Bengali film industry if we can reach out to the larger population ofNorth America. Bengali cinema has such a great lineage. This is our humble effort to do something for Bengali films. I hope people come forward and support us and it will be our collaborative effort to help the Bengali industry thrive. In Orion we will be making films for the sake of Bengali cinema. A good number of educated people, thinking professionals have started coming to the Bengali film industry, which is a positive side.”

The star studded premiere of Jodi Ekdin were attended by eminent personalities- magician P. C Sarkar, filmmaker Sandip Ray, producers from Shri Venkatesh Films, film distributors like Vijay Khemka, Jai Khemka to name a few. ”The response is huge so far. Everyone liked the film. The film’s music composed  by Joy Sarkar, the amazing cinematography and Indraneil Sengupta, Priyanka Sarkar’s acting have all added great strength to Jodi Ekdin. Joy Sarkar is a big name in the Bengali ‘basic’ music industry. This is his debut film as a music director and he has done an extremely good job. The songs of Jodi Ekdin have been widely praised by the audience.”

When asked about the resemblance between the story of Jodi Ekdin and the Jennifer Love Hewitt-starrer English movie If Only, and if the original story writer has been credited in the film, Suvojit says that Jodi Ekdin is not a mere copy of the Hollywood movie, even though Riingo’s movie is definitely inspired by it. “Jodi Ekdin is not a total remake or copy of If Only and hence the English flick has not been credited. Jodi Ekdin reflects Riingo’s thoughts and he has added so many new aspects to the story of If Only. For example, the character of Saheb Chatterjee was not present in the original film, it is totally Riingo’s innovation.”

Orion Entertainment has also produced music albums like ‘Matiswar’ by Dohar, ‘Yatra’ by Ustad Rashis Khan and Nachiketa Chakrabarty, non fiction TV show Khas Chikitsha. etc.