Journalist turned director Ram Kamal Mukherjee has finalised the cast for his first Bengali short film ‘Rickshawala’. Mumbai based Bhojpuri actor Avinash Dwivedi to play the lead role whereas theatre actor Kasturi Chakraborty and debutant Sangita Sinha have been signed up for the female character.
Pic Courtesy: Gaurav Sethi
After the end of an incredible chase, Ram Kamal Mukherjee find Avinash Dwivedi as the lead. He explains, “I had almost given up, that’s when I met Avinash at a friend’s birthday bash and somehow I felt that he looks exactly like Manoj (the character) from my film.’’
Kasturi-Chakraborty
Theatre student Avinash through his talent mesmerised the audiences of many commercials and Bhojpuri film ‘Naachhniya’. “I was completely taken aback when Ram Kamal Da approached me for a Bengali film. Though I have lived some part of my life in Bengal, I never had a chance to work in a Bengali film. Dada narrated me the story. I was completely floored by the narration. It’s a tough role to portray both physically and emotionally,” says Avinash.
Sangita-Sinha
Incidentally, Avinash has been working on his dialect and body language for the past two weeks. “He is a dedicated actor, he asked me to record the dialogues so that he could memorize them with the proper accent. He doesn’t want anyone to dub his lines. In fact, he will be visiting Kolkata a few days before the schedule to practice hand-pulley rickshaw,” avers the director.
On the other hand Kasturi, a popular face from the Bengali serial ‘Nati Binodini’, who plays the love interest of Avinash in the film. While Sangita portrays a Bengali housewife who trapped in a bad marriage. “I am glad, that Assorted Motion Pictures has taken such a wonderful initiative too in Bengali. This would be my first journey with a national production house. I loved Ram Kamal Sir’s ‘Cakewalk’, and now eagerly waiting to work with him in ‘Rickshawala’,” says Kasturi. Whereas Sangita started her career with Chandan Sen’s theatre group in Burdwan. She bagged several beauty pageant titles including Mrs Asia Grand Universe in 2019.
The Short film Rickshawala is produced by Aritra Das, Shailendra Kumar and Gaurav Daga under the banner of Assorted Motion Pictures and SS1 Entertainments. It will be shot in the city of joy in July.
