\'Shyam Singha Roy is a time travel film with a mystic touch\' Rahul Sankrityan

After his earlier films The End and Taxiwala got a fantastic response, filmmaker Rahul Sankrityan is coming up with a period supernatural thriller, Shyam Singha Roy (SSR), starring Nani.

He says writer Satyadev’s story impressed him so much that he felt impelled to translate it on screen. “I worked on the script with him for a few months, and eventually came up with a comprehensive narrative,” says Rahul, adding that he gave a different spin to the lead characters.

Nani and Sai Pallavi in Shyam Singha Roy

Once the story crystalised, he felt Nani would be apt for the role, and got him on board. The actor will be seen in dual shades in the film, set in Kolkata.
“The film is an epic love story, but has new characterisations, and is set in two different time periods — one contemporary and the other in the 1960’s,” says the director.

Sharing that shooting the film in two different time periods was challenging, he says, apart from getting the technicalities right, he also had to plan the logistics and creatives appropriately.

“It was a learning experience and I got better insights into filmmaking. My earlier two films were set in only one time frame. Shyam Singha Roy is my costliest film to date, and has a huge canvas. Luckily we had a great team with knowledge about script, craft and production, so that helped me a lot,” says the filmmaker, adding that the film has a lot of Vfx. Artwork plays a significant role in the film, according to Rahul. He says that building huge sets and working with more than 700 people was an enriching experience.

Rahul’s earlier films too had supernatural and thriller elements, and we ask him why he’s fascinated by the thriller genre. “Shyam Singha Roy is more like a period love story; it has an engaging screenplay that transports the audience to a different world. It’s a gripping time travel film with a mystic touch,” says the director, adding that pre-visualisation work came in handy during the making.

In May this year, a few members of the unit tested positive for Covid-19 but that did not stop the makers from going ahead with the shooting. “Those were pressing times, but yes, we went ahead because it was a very expensive set and we had to wrap up the shoot. Moreover, only one week of shooting was left,” says Rahul.