Kamaleswar Mukherjee's The Hunger Artist inspired by Franz Kafka's short story releases

Ahead of the release on the YouTube channel of Fatfish Entertainment, the film got a special screening attended by the casts at film centre Nandan here.

The story revolves around a common man named Bhuthnath Malakar or Bhuto, played by actor Ritwick Chakraborty, who often stages hunger strikes protesting against the violences in the world.

Chakraborty gets convinced by his friend-turned PRO Ghanashyam Tafadar or Ghona, played by popular Bengali actor Biswanath Basu, to use his skill of holding strikes as a business.

Speaking about the film, Chakraborty tells India Blooms, "A story from 1922 is being told in 2022. This shows that great literary works never lose their relevance."

"I had a general discussion with Kamaleswar Mukherjee while making the film but never talked about the character's psyche," the actor says while throwing light upon his process of acting in the short film.

At the end of the short film, which spans about 19 minutes, Bhuto is deserted by Ghona who moves on to his next mission of turning a new talent into a business after the 'hunger strike' card falls flat.

Mukherjee, who worked with Chakraborty twice earlier, heaps praises on his lead actor saying, "It was a pleasurable experience because he is a fantastic actor and he can express and bring to life all kinds of emotion."

"I am aware of such characters (in real life)," says Basu, speaking on his approach to the film.

(From L to R) Ritwick Chakraborty and Priyanka Mondal at Nandan | Image Credit: Avishek Mitra/IBNS

In the film, Bhuto shares his journey from a common man to an overnight sensation to a sufferer with a journalist, played by actress Priyanka Mondal, who falls in love with the "artist".

Regarding her preparations for the film, Mondal tells India Blooms, "Honestly, I didn't have to go through a detailed research. I just learnt about the role through my interactions with journalists in real life."

(Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)