Their 2019 film ‘Sanjhbati’, starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Dev and Paoli Dam, did wonders at the box office. Director duo Leena Ganguly and Saibal Banerjee made people realize again the emotional ties and bonds with family. Now, they are back again with ‘Khelaghar’ which will see Dev and Paoli reuniting with the director duo while Srabanti Chatterjee also onboard.
“We have been working on the story idea for some time now. The audience will get to see the three of us in a new avatar in this film. Both Paoli and Srabanti are powerful actors. And with Paoli and I, the audience will get to revisit the magic of the Chandu-Phuli chemistry (from Sanjhbati) once again on screen. People will get to discover Srabanti in a new way... she is an underrated actress, who should not be typecast. For Leenadi and Saibalda, I love their storytelling style which is really engaging... the way the story progresses with the three characters in Khelaghar is fascinating,” shared Dev.
“All of us live in a khelaghar. It is a relationship story revolving around a modern crisis,” added director Leena Ganguly.
This will be Paoli’s third film with Leena and Saibal. “Their films have stories which address important, relevant, social issues that are woven around real characters, which is why the stories resonate with the audiences. The subjects are so sensitive,” says Paoli, who is looking forward to the “intriguing journey”.
“People loved Dev and my pairing earlier... they flooded us with messages saying they want to see us together on screen again. We had organically approached our characters... we complemented each other on screen,” added Paoli.
“Dev is a director’s actor, extremely sincere and intelligent. He is full of energy and asks relevant questions about his character. Paoli is a strong, intense actress, who can bring out various shades to a character... her eyes are so expressive,” shares Leena, who’ll be working with Srabanti for the first time. The shoot is expected to start around August-September.
