It’s not everyday that you witness the making on a conspiracy thriller that’s served with a heady dose of scary factor. The perfect jump-scare. The nail-biting plot. The drama that engages the fans. It takes a set of seriously talented artistes, both in front of and behind the camera, to put such a story together. The versatility of Durgamati’s lead actress Bhumi Pednekar has been well-established in her young but stunning career and now coupled with visionary Director – Ashok’s brilliance and technological prowess, including swashbuckling special effects, the result is a film to savour for fans of all ages and genres.
Durgamati, from the very beginning of the film’s journey, was conceived as ‘larger than life’. It started with erecting a massive set for the DURGAMATI Haveli, a visual that’s become symbolic with the film thanks to the trailer and promotions, to give the film an authentic setting. From costume design to production design, prosthetics, special effects, and hi-tech VFX, the makers took a deep dive in every area to give the film a wholesome entertainer feel. The core idea in Ashok’s vision was to transport the audience to an in-depth experience and make everything feel real rather than make-believe. Even the exterior sequences of the film were shot across real locations in the outskirts of Bhopal. And then it was up to the powerful ensemble cast led by Bhumi to make the characters and the story come alive. It has been a transformation of sorts to see Bhumi Pednekar get into the skin of not one but two characters – Chanchal Chauhan and Durgamati. While Arshad Warsi dons the hat of a politician, Ishwar Prasad, with his customary gravitas and finesse. Mahie Gill gets into the shoes of the character of a CBI officer Satakshi Ganguly with ease and Jisshu Sengupta as always, carves a niche by essaying the role of an ACP in the movie with great sincerity and belief.
Large scale, larger-than-life stories like Durgamati require vision of a different level and Ashok was clear on how he wanted to set his Hindi debut. The haveli set up was constructed around a ruins site and it is remarkable how the workers leveled it up to make it look all seamless with no visual distinction between old and new. There were hundreds of workers involved in creating the huge Haveli over a span of 7 to 8 weeks. The makers of the film wanted to create such a huge set that the protagonist, Durgamati initially feels dwarfed by the horror within the haveli but subsequently rises to battle the evils within.
According to the makers, in a particular scene where Bhumi holds a huge trident (Trishul) and shouts out loud ‘Main Hoon Durgamati’, they had planned initially to use a dummy prop but Ashok wanted total authenticity and Bhumi wouldn’t have anything lesser either. The weapon finally used is a heavy solid metal trident that Bhumi lifted ted with great difficulty but managed to deliver an effortless set of scenes featuring her in the Durgamati avatar.
The ethereal visual experience is not limited to just the scenes and the thrill, even the music of the film carries a unique stamp of its own. Shot across picturesque locations in and around the quaint city of Bhopal, Durgamati’s romantic song ‘Baras Baras’, sung by the velvet-voiced B. Praak, has already become a chart buster and the love anthem for its fans.
Backed by a strong ensemble cast, a visionary director and exciting storytelling & visual treatment, Durgamati is also set to become the preferred choice of movie-watchers as it launches today.