Birsa Dasgupta is a notable director in Tollywood. He has helmed Bengali flicks like 033, Golpo Holeo Shotti, Gangster and One to name a few. Now, he is awaiting the release of his upcoming ghost film Shob Bhooturey which stars popular Tollywood actors like Abir Chatterjee and Sohini Sarkar. It also stars his little daughter, Ida Dasgupta. TellyChakkar.com's Tania Roy got in touch with Birsa Dasgupta who spoke at length about his film, actors, daughters and more. Excerpts from the interview:

What made you cast Abir, Sohini and Ida in your ghost film Shob Bhooturey?

Abir is playing the character of a young man who doesn’t believe in ghosts. However, after a point, he (the character) becomes interested in ghosts. I chose Abir for this role because I wanted to use the cunning and sharp feel that he has developed after essaying sleuths like Feluda and Byomkesh. Talking about Sohini, well, I always felt that there is something ghostly about her. Whenever she looks with her chin down it feels as if a ghost is staring. Jokes apart, her role is a very difficult one. In the entire film, her character demands her not to blink her eyes. Acting without blinking your eyes is a difficult task. So, I had to cast somebody who is a very good actress and I thought she will do justice to the character.

What about Ida?  

I have cast Ida because her eyes are very expressive. She has the kind of eyes the script demands, big ones that would light up in the dark.

Was it an easy or a difficult task to convince the actors to act in Shob Bhooturey?  

One fine day, I called up all the actors in the film for a script reading session. I told them it would require two hours so they should come prepared.  For the two hours, none of the actors moved from their seats. Neither did they go to the wash room and nor did they ask for a cup of tea. They said, listening to the script felt like hearing a ghost story from thakurma (grandmother) and that’s the feeling I want the audience to have. So, it was not difficult to convince them.  

Tell us, why should the paying public come to the theatres to watch your film?

I would ask the audience to watch all the films as a lot of effort is put into making any film. And talking about my film, well, as far as I remember, after Bhooter Bhobishyot, the audiences have not seen a Bengali ghost film. That’s why they should watch the film. I feel there is no Bengali who is not scared of ghosts. I also think there are two types of people in the world, people who are not scared of ghosts and Bengalis.  Like Rabindranath Tagore, ghost (stories) is important to Bengalis.  So, they will come to the theatres to watch the film.

Both of your kids are involved in this project. Your elder daughter (Meghla Dasgupta) has worked behind the camera and the younger one (Ida Dasgupta) has played a prominent role in the film. So, what are their future plans in terms of career?

No future plans. Meghla will appear for her class IX board exams and Ida is in class I so they will have to concentrate on studies. They are free to choose their careers. However, I have observed that Ida can act well. Meghla too acts well but she seems to be developing interest more in working behind the camera.  It depends on what they want. My grandfather was a filmmaker, my father was a filmmaker and my brother and I also make films. Nobody told us to make films. It was a natural course. Bidipta (his wife) is an actress. Her father is also an actor. So, both acting and filmmaking are in their blood. But as I said before, they are free to choose their careers. So, if they want to be a doctor or a scientist, I don’t have any problem.

Produced by SVF, the film is slated to release on 8 September.