Bornila Chatterjee’s The Hungry , one of the most critically admired films of 2017, somehow didn’t get as much space in popular media as other ‘female-oriented’ films got through the year. A tense thriller set in Delhi, it follows the revenge of Tulsi Joshi, a widow and bride to be, in an elite wedding where two families are tying the knot for their material convenience. “It is not a recreation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus but we have actually followed the villain (Tamora) from the play and turned her into the heroine Tulsi (Tisca Chopra) in the film. We have taken a lot of liberty with the play but the story kept going back to the text which was actually very important for us,” says Bornila, who also wrote the script with Tanaji Dasgupta.
At times it looks like a known Shakespearean drama told through a perspective of a complex female character, at others, it is closer to the modern day feuds in corporate houses and neo-rich families of Delhi-NCR. “We were very much influenced by the news of violence in the country. The Ponty Chadda case, which was a gruesome killing of a brother by his own brother, helped us in framing such family feud. And there was Indrani Mukherji case as well, which is a female point of view of violence. It all came into our writing process,” describes Chatterjee.
Starting from the earliest days of cinema, one can count more Shakespearean adaptations in Indian film industry than anywhere in the world and that credit goes to the education system as well which is filled with Shakespearean text from the early level. Bornila agrees that its effect will be visible in cinema as well. “Shakespeare was something that I associated with from my school days and in fact Tanaji Dasgupta, my fellow writer, and I met in a one-act play competition at British Council in Kolkata where I presented an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and he did a mishmash of different plays. Two of us also acted in Othello together. But I cannot call myself an aficionado of Shakespeare or an authentic voice on his work. It just happened,” quips Chatterjee. It is enticing, now, to look at the Titus Andronicus’s inherent politics as dated from Roman Empire bearing resemblance to that of modern day Indian aristocratic families. But that was one the first plays that Shakespeare wrote and is least talked about because of its gore topic and gruesomeness. Why did she take up only this play?
Discussing Shakespeare
“You can tell by reading it that he (Shakespeare) was young as he has thrown everything into it. There are over thirteen deaths, there are so many characters you cannot even count them and so much happens. As a play, people love it and hate it. That is not like his other plays like Tempest or Othello which people normally love and there are enough work already done in forms of various adaptations both on screen as well as stage. But we need to tell something new and that what we did,” she explains. “It was a sprawling play and figuring out how to condense that was a challenge and if you figure out that part, then you can say that you have done a faithful adaptation”
Despite coming from a middle class Bengali family with no history of aristocracy in the family, she says, she can relate to every character in the film. “Naseer sir was from that part of the country and knew the aristocracy and politics well enough. The film takes place in a fort and once you get into it you do not go see much out of outer world. But even then we maintained that authenticity. Tisca is also from north India. She knew the body language and she worked a lot on her style. From the moment they got on board, they read each draft and gave us feedback,” she relates. “Naseer sir is incredible, a colleague in the creation of it. There is so much to learn from him and he is super generous with all the co-actors, also gives little suggestions which sort of alleviates the scene in ways that you can never imagine.”
Director of photography Nick Cooke’s portrayal of the polluted, misty dawns in New Delhi mirrors the cold characters in the film and reflect the overarching themes of hate and revenge throughout the film. “Everything was staged and deliberate as I wanted everything to be stiff. The wanted the film should feel very misty, stark and cold while viewers watch it. Because that is what I think when I think of north India. The coldness really worked with the characters as we did not want any colour to be happy or joyful,” says Chatterjee.
Choreography matches characters
The young filmmaker, who studied filmmaking from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and also received a fellowship from the Sundance Institute/Mumbai Mantra Screenwriters Lab in 2014, believes that co-production and script labs can give new filmmakers a chance to make films of their choice. “With opportunities like this, you get to meet people in the industry in various capacities. Often any kind of art making can be isolating so things like co-production and script labs actually open out the world to you,” she adds.
The film is a complete take away from her debut feature, Let’s Be Out, The Sun Is Shining , which she describes as ‘very witty love story’, and was shot in guerilla style with her friends. It won the Audience Award at the 2012 New York Indian Film Festival and travelled festivals the U.S. But she is soon coming back with a love story all over again. “That is a love story that takes place in Kolkata. I never shot in my home city and I really love to give it a new look. It is a love story between three people.”
