The Parent Trap

Ushnota Paul takes you to the serene environs of Shantiniketan in Bengal where Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy’s film Posto on modern day family dynamics is shot.

- Ushnota Paul

It’s a cold December morning and people around me are hustling to get the first shot of the day ready. We are in Shantiniketan, a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, approximately 165 kilometres from Kolkata. The educational town was established by Maharshi Debendranath Tagore that was later expanded by his son, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who founded the Visva-Bharati University. I’ve travelled from Mumbai to visit the set of Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy’s latest movie, Posto. The Bengali director-duo are known for their critically acclaimed films like Belaseshe and Praktan. The film’s based on how grandparents play a significant role in the rearing of a child when parents are out at work.

The time on my watch reads 7am as I sip copious amount of tea from clay cups to keep myself warm. What’s unique about today’s shoot is that the permission to shoot at the University’s Upasana Griha or the Prayer Hall (built by Debendranath in 1863), has been granted for the first time ever. “The protagonist (a child actor whose identity has been kept under wraps by the makers) studies in Shantiniketan. We are showing the daily activities of the students in the opening scene,” says Shiboprosad. The entire crew including me, is wearing white kurta-pajama, a strict instruction from the authorities, or else one is not allowed inside the Prayer Hall. It’s a serene feeling even in the midst of a large unit. The Bengali in me ends up humming Rabindrasangeet, the environment being a trigger.