1. Tell us a little bit about your film background. What kind of films do you like to watch?Which films and 
directors influence you the most?
The best way to learn film making is by probably making a film all by oneself. I started with a video film and therefore could afford to make a lot of mistakes. But I consciously tried not to repeat any mistake that I had made in any of my early films. I joined the industry as an Assistant Director. That helped me to understand the economics of film making more than anything else. But working in a structured film industry can corrupt a lot of your finer sensibilities. Forces of the market and popular demands can sneak into even the loneliest thought of yours. It helps you to survive though.
I am influenced by many filmmakers. But if I am asked about one particular name, then it would certainly be Ritwik Ghatak, the great Bengali director. The whole idea of cinema came to India from the west, but if cinema in India has a language of its own then a major credit for that goes to him. He used the metaphors of the local folk culture to create a film language which is unique.
2. How necessary do you think formal education in filmmaking is important to a filmmaker?
Going to a film school does help as it introduces one to the latest film technology. In India, students of the government run film schools are given the opportunity to make their diploma films with public money. It’s a great privilege. Interestingly, they struggle once they pass out and join the industry as professionals as they have to deal with inferior equipments, difficult working conditions and shoe string budgets. Unfortunately, most of the institute pass outs today are joining the Bollywood just for money.
3. Where do you draw inspiration for your work? Where do you find your stories?
I do want my films to look like news footage at times and try sincerely to shoot a fiction in the way one would shoot a documentary. Most of the characters and incidents in my films are from the real life. I deliberately use the music and the backdrop to refer to a certain culture which is becoming marginal day by day.
4. In your latest film Kaal, we see a sort of a clinical detachment in narration. The film is very grueling in certain sections, which has been heightened by the lush beauty of the nature and the lyrical and dreamlike sequences in certain other sections. What was your purpose behind this graphic nature of the film?
Away from the cities, India is breathtakingly beautiful. Even if you watch news footage of some gruesome political violence in the rural India, you will find the background to be visually arresting. We have tried to explore this paradox in Kaal(Our Time) But never have we attempted to decorate any frame in the name of creating “poetry”. In fact, I hate to watch a film which has poetic pretensions. I strongly feel the realities of the third world are different and there is a need of a different film language to express them. Symbolism and surrealism are no more interesting.
Reality in the third world is shocking to say the least. No film however graphic it is in its narration can match the grueling reality around us.
5. What kind of response has Kaal received from its audience?
Both Kaal (Our Time) and my earlier film Kantatar (Barbed Wire) have run in number of theatres in rural Bengal, which is a major achievement, as films of this genre hardly make it outside the cities. One strong reason for that is we did not make the films look like typical art house films. Slowly, the phobia related to the state sponsored art cinema is fading away. But even today the Other Cinema in India mostly shy away from political issues and criticism of the state.
Kaal faced major criticism and resistance from the Indian censor board. I was forced to make a number of cuts for the release of the film in Bengal. Sadly, my films are not shown in the television channels in our country.
6. Tell us a little bit about your forthcoming projects.
Globalisation and its impact particularly in rural Bengal is one theme which I definitely want to work on. But there are not much producers for such films. Might have to do a bollywood film just to survive.
7. In the past few years, Bollywood, with its lavish production and big names has been exploring experimental films more and more, and getting recognized for these experimental films in the domestic as well as overseas market. Do you think regional independent films are facing stiff competition from them? What do you feel about the future of regional independent films?
Bollywood has made it very difficult for most regional films to survive in India today. There are hardly any films made in the north east and there is a decline in the Bengali film industry as well. Films made in Bangladesh cannot be released in Bengal and bengali films made in West Bengal cannot be shown in Bangladesh despite the same language and culture. Unless the two governments and the producers associations do something about it the future is bleak for the Bangla movies. Bollywood is ruling supreme currently. Only the Tamil and Telegu industry can match up to them in terms of money and audience. Sadly, the bengali mainstream cinema today are poor copies of either the Tamil or Telegu hits or are straight lifts from Bollywood blockbusters.
Digital cinema is slowly emerging as a viable option for regional cinema in India today.
8. How important is the overseas market for you?
With more and more theatres shutting down in rural Bengal and people preferring to watch only Bollywood Films in the city multiplexes, finding the overseas market is probably the only hope for Bengali Cinema today. But the myopic vision of the producers and their lack of ability to promote the films at the international level is a big hindrance to the process.
I liked you mentioning Ritwik Ghatak… do you think that you, as the most promising Bengali director, can match up to or even can catch up to the genre of Ritwik Ghatak?