Via Darjeeling Preview
VIA DARJEELING directed by Arindam Nandy with Kay Kay Menon, Sonali Kulkarni,Vinay Pathak and Parvin Dabas in the main lead, is a psychological thriller produced by Moxie Entertainments and co produced by National Film Development Corp production which is scheduled to release in India on 20th June, 2008. The film is about a recently married couple on their honeymoon. On the day of their return, one of them disappears. The mystery returns to Calcutta one night…via Darjeeling. Faces are unmasked and new ones emerge.
The film is set in modern day Calcutta & Darjeeling and is based on an age old Bengali tradition called 'adda' where friends get together in the rains, & exchange stories & gossip, over drinks & dinner.
The story revolves around Ankur (KK Menon) & Rimli (Sonali Kulkarni),a recently married couple on their honeymoon in Darjeeling. But on the eve of their return to Calcutta, Ankur disappears. The Inspector in charge, Robin Bose, searches high & low, but Ankur is no where to be found. When he questions Rimli, the only clues she is able to give him, are of a taxi driver Ankur had fought with & a mysterious looking man whom she thought was following her throughout their trip in Darjeeling. Two years later, Inspector Bose relates this story to a few friends; they are intrigued by this story, & question him about the outcome. But he has no answers.
The film goes through several peaks & twists in its narrative, opening itself up to new meanings, interpretations and solutions, leading from one to another, with some what diverse ends!
The cast includes Sonali Kulkari, KK Menon, Parvin Dabbas, Vinay Pathak, Simone Singh, Rajat Kapoor, Proshanth Narayana and Sandhya Mridul playing friends gossiping on a rainy night, bantering & discussing the mystery of the missing husband amongst them. Intrigued by this story, they start a tale about the possible outcome and all take part to give their own versions where personalities, motifs and professions change. The past and the future come rushing back and the characters in the room blend in to the ’story’ themselves giving it a new turn, every time.
The plot following a pattern of 'one story, multiple endings,' is full of drama and draws inspiration from Kurusawa's 'Rashomon'…leaving the audience in suspense and thinking about it after they watch it. The screenplay is written by Ranjan Das and Arindam Nandy while the dialogues are written by Atul Sabharwal.
To increase the feeling of mystery, the sound design of the background score is sequential and also incorporates the ambient sounds of a North East Indian hill station like tolling bells, Buddhist chants etc. The songs have a rock & acid jazz overtone to them.
The film is shot in straight angles to keep a simple look. The intensity of camera movements and shot compositions grows along with the intensity within a particular scene.
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