The great scenic beauty of this place fascinates Tarapada Babu. He has come to shoot here with his team before. Beautiful landscapes are everywhere you look with your eyes on the camera.
Director Tarapada Babu also likes to include unexpected moments that occur during the making of his films. It can be said to be one of his signature traits.
Once in the Dungri (hillock) of Chatamghutu, he took a liking to a man named Nitai while shooting a few shots of the movie 'Dushtulok'. The man was standing on top of a dungri with a tattered, discolored umbrella. Tarapada Babu suddenly noticed that man. The guy will definitely fit the role of Khedan Das. Everyone is afraid to speak to the Moral (head of the village). But the man named Khedan Das is not afraid at all. Tarapada Babu managed to get a beautiful performance from Nitai. Nitai ended his act by waving his umbrella over his head, turning his back and walking to a distant Mahul tree to abuse Moral. Tarapada Babu was very happy with his performance.
Another strange incident happened during the shooting of the movie 'King of Ushuldungri'. During the night, a camp caught fire near where he was staying with his party. The fire was spreading rapidly here and there through the dry grass and leaves of the forest. Those who came forward to put out the fire had their eyes and faces burnt by the raging flames. The devastated soldiers lay down in the open field with black ash on their heads at dawn. Seeing that scene, he rearranged the picture. Mixing some color with harsh reality, he made the movie 'King of Ushuldungri' and was very satisfied.
That Tarapada Babu pitched a small tent in the Kushaldi field with his handicrafts and essentials. The empty field of Kushaldi has started to become crowded with the arrival of Tarapada Babu. The surroundings are decorated with colorful tents and colorful banners. A few big buses and lorries are standing on one side. And to see all this, people from the village have also come here. Everyone wants to see the shooting.
There is always something new in Rathin Mahato's Chhou dance performances. As audiences had already seen the demon-slaying by Maa Durga many times, Rathin added several social twists to the traditional form. In one such twist, he disguised himself as a bear and defeated Asur, the devil. His short and chubby figure suited the bear costume perfectly.
The Chhou dance continued in the grounds of Kushaldi High School until early morning yesterday. A total of four teams took part in the event. As Rathin Mahato’s team wrapped up their performance, the sky began to lighten.
The tired performers headed back to the village by car. Still in costume but without their masks, their knees, elbows, and feet were wrapped in cloth to protect them during jumps on hard ground. At Rathin Mahato’s instruction, the car stopped under a large Arjuna tree. Nearby, a pond shimmered in the early light, and Tarapada Babu’s tents were visible in the distance.
Under the tree, preparations for cooking had begun. The Chhou artists planned to bathe in the pond, eat, and then leave. After staying up all night, everyone was famished. The cooking team had already started work. Since Rathin no longer had any duties, he washed his hands and face at the pond and walked toward the tents, curious about the gathering crowd.
He saw Tarapada Babu, wearing a wavy white cap, auditioning one or two locals for roles. Rathin stepped forward, hoping to be noticed, but he failed to catch the director’s attention. Tarapada Babu didn’t consider him suitable for acting because of his build. He was looking instead for a group of tall people to appear in a dramatic fight scene, where the hero would speed through on a motorcycle down a narrow road.
It had long been Rathin’s dream to appear on the big screen. But with Tarapada Babu’s rejection, he returned to the tree, disappointed. Seeing that the rice wasn’t yet cooked, he stretched out on the dry grass and began to wonder how he might still impress the director. After resting for a while under the shade of the Arjuna tree, he stood up and said to himself, “Let’s see what happens. I have to take my chance.”
But meanwhile, the incident happened in an instant! A huge, fat bear ran out from the nearby bushes and almost fell onto the Royal Enfield. Seeing the bear, the hero of the film, Subhanjan, slowed down the bike. Then, in terrible panic, he fell off to one side of the road along with the bike. But the bear didn’t let him go. It jumped and attacked the hero this time. The hero could not imagine that he would come face to face with such a bear. Some biker must have run away with these bear cubs, so the bear chased after the bike. Subhanjan thought that the bear couldn’t stand his red T-shirt. Sometimes, the color red excites them. Thinking this, Subhanjan quickly took off his T-shirt. Then he started running towards the road.
Tarapada Babu was happy and said, “Beautiful scene. I want this. What’s wrong with including such a natural event in the film?”
Meanwhile, the bear was not sitting still. Running on its hind legs, the hero was hugged by the bear’s front legs. Just then, Subhanjan noticed that the bear’s hands and feet looked just like a human’s.
A hero is a hero! He should not be defeated. Tarapada Babu must have kept this bear scene to surprise the audience. In fact, this is characteristic of Tarapada Babu always wants to include one or two such surprises in his films.
Then began the fake fight between the bear and the hero of the movie. Both of them rolled down the narrow road without hitting anyone. It seemed they would enter the nearby forest while rolling. Tarapada Babu was afraid of this. He started shouting “Cut! Cut!” very loudly. The cameraman turned off the camera. Those watching the shooting from the sidelines burst into joy after seeing the hero fighting such a giant bear.
All the people who were ready to fight alongside the hero came forward to save him from the bear.
Seeing the people approaching, the bear released Subhanjan and slowly stood up. Then he took off the bear mask, came to Tarapada Babu, and said, “Sir, I am Rathin Mahato. I am the manager of ‘Hasapathor Chhou-Dance.’ At the event, I dressed up as a bear. I came dressed as a bear to get a chance in your movie. Please forgive me.”
Tarapada Babu said with a smile, “This is a great performance. At first, I thought you were a real bear.”
Hero Subhanjan took the bear mask from Rathin and started shaking it. Then he said with surprise, “Who would think this was a decorated bear! I would have run you over with a car!”
At his words, Rathin Mahato smiled shyly and said, “If you want to get a chance in a film, you have to take a little risk!”
Hearing this, Tarapada Babu said in awe, “Subhanjan’s, I mean, the hero’s entire fight with the bear has been captured on camera. Do you think I will miss such real fighting so easily? Also, if the poster of this movie has a big picture of a bear fighting the hero, it will be great fun!”
With that, he left Rathin Mahato standing there and led his team away. Rathin, dressed as half man and half bear, stood with a smile on his face.
As soon as the cameraman was ready, Tarapada Babu shouted again, “Action!” With the ‘click, click’ sound, the whole team started moving into the camera’s small lens.