In a world of virus-induced breathlessness, the first Assamese superhero will be without a mask, unlike most of his popular Hollywood counterparts.
But Advitya, revived two years after a digital accident prevented him from hitting the screens, will sport a special costume this time as he takes on the supervillain in a fancy outfit.
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Director Arindam Sharma expected to release Advitya – a Sanskrit word for the Sun – soon after uploading a teaser on social media in June 2019. A multiple system snag made him lose the edited film and all the backup footage, putting him through a phase of an emotional and financial crisis.
A “superpower” within “awakened” by his fictional superhero made Mr. Sharma pick up the pieces, tweak the script to include more action sequences, coordinate with the actors and start filming again by the dawn of 2020.
“After making up my mind to re-shoot the entire film, I informed all the actors. Apart from Niha Rani Das and Bikash Bora, none agreed to be part of the film again because of their professional commitments to other producers,” he told The Hindu .
Some new actors, popular on Assamese TV channels, came on board. They include Arnab Ayan in the lead role.
The COVID-19 lockdown affected the second schedule of the shooting planned in March 2020. But he held on to complete the shooting and editing after a gap in October-November that year.
“The VFX team is now working on the visual effects for more than 350 shots of the film,” Mr. Sharma said, hoping for the commercial release of his directorial debut later this year depending on the prevailing situation.
“The film is much tighter and more action-packed than the earlier version,” he said.
Advitya, the first superhero in Assamese cinema’s 88-year-old history, is a common man seeking job security and stability in life. The name is given by the people he saves from danger.
The superhero finds it difficult to manage his suddenly-acquired superpowers to take on the equally powerful supervillain, an evil scientist who derives strength from his laboratory experiments and the fury of nature.
“The underlying message of the film is that one should not go against time and nature, and that truth will always prevail over lies and good over evil,” Mr. Sharma said, declining to disclose the source of Advitya’s superpowers or how he overpowers the supervillain.
Apart from directing and scripting the film, he handled the cinematography along with two others – Kailash Duara and Nasirul Hussain. The choreography is by Sarat Bappi Saikia, while Dipu Sharma arranged the music.
The film, made under the banner of Krrishna Kraft Productions (India), is produced by Brojendra Nath Sarma. Popular singer Dikshu Sarma and Sanchita Sharma sang the songs penned and composed by Ankur Sharma.
