Arshin Mehta, who has won accolades for her performances in web series such as ZEE 5 series Main Hero Boll Raha Hu and Pocket FM’s Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh, as well as numerous TV commercials like Jeevansathi, Dabur, and Imperial Blue, currently stars in the movie The Diary of West Bengal. She describes the film as a social commentary based on real events that have occurred and are still occurring in Bangladesh and West Bengal.
The Diary of West Bengal was shot in various parts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, the Sundarbans, and Murshidabad. We also shot some scenes in Sitapur and a little in Lucknow, but most of the shooting was done in West Bengal.
She said, “The experience was amazing because working on something like this is very unique. For example, when we were in the Sundarbans or the jungle, our vanity vans had to be parked about 2 kilometres outside the jungle since they couldn’t be brought inside. This made it very difficult to freshen up or arrange for anything we needed.”
Arshin further shared that there were times when they couldn’t shoot in certain places because things could have become sensitive, so they only did lip-syncing in those areas.
She added, “We even filmed in places where shooting wasn’t allowed. I often had to come up with creative ways to get permission. For instance, I would tell people that we were working on a school film project for my exam or that we were doing a pre-wedding shoot and just needed to walk from one spot to another. I used these kinds of techniques to make sure we could get the best possible shots.”
The Diary of West Bengal is a social film, and she feels it’s important because everything they are depicting is actually happening in Bangladesh and Bengal right now. “I believe it’s important for the rest of the world to know what’s really going on there. Bollywood and movies, in general, are powerful mediums that allow people to connect with the characters and stories they see on screen. Movies can have a significant impact,” she said.
