Leena Gangopadhyay is a well-known name in Bengali television industry. She is known for penning down amazing scripts for Bengali dailies. She has penned the script for mega hits like Ishti Kutum, Jol Nupur, Binni Dhaner Khoi, Keya Patar Nouko, and Kojagori to name a few. Her upcoming project is Colors Bangla’s Gachhkouto, which is produced by Magic Moments Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd.

At a recent press meet, which was held at Movietone studio, Kolkata, the creative head of Gachhkouto talked about the story, its inspiration, cast and more. Excerpts:

About the story

Talking about the title and plot of the story, Leena said, “The term Gachhkouto is very much close to Bengalis as it is related to (Bengali) marriage. And the story is mainly about a father (Bharat Kaul) and his daughter’s (Mishmee Das) journey. The father is an industrialist, who leads two lives. He has a happy family back home but has also made a house with a baaiji (courtesan). Being a music and dance lover, he had fallen in love with the voice of thebaaiji. Together they have a gild child, named Mohor (Mishmee) who is our female protagonist. Eventually, his happy family gets to know about the baaiji and insults her so much that she commits suicide. Later, when Mohor visits her father he accepts her only on a condition that she will not reveal her identity. She starts living in the house as a maid. And thus, begins her struggle and beyond this I can’t reveal now.”  

About story’s inspiration

When asked what the inspiration of this story was, she shared, “In our previous soap, Chokher Tara Tui, we have shown a bit of baaiji mohalla and there was a lot of repercussion owning to this. We have received both positive and negative feedback. So, I realized that somewhere people are interested to know about this life.”

To research on the subject, Leena even went to the major religious hub in India, Banaras. So, viewers can expect authentic feel of the Banaras in Gachhkouto. 

Significance of cast

The ace writer said that for the success of any story, casting plays an important role. She said, “In television, to take the story forward, if 50 percent responsibility is on a writer then the rest 50 percent responsibility is on actors. If our Bengali serials are being watched properly, one will notice that we work with every good actor. To make the character believable, the writer and actor’s thoughts need to be synchronized; the actor must have confidence on the writer. And we are honoured that the good actors of our industry have always supported us.”

Bharat Kaul initially wasn’t ready to play Kushol

Talented actor Bharat Kaul is playing the role of the industrialist aka Kushol. Did you know when Leena offered the role of Kushol to him he said no to it? Yes, that’s absolutely right. However, given the intensity of the role, later Bharat was convinced. Reminiscing the interesting story, Leena shared, “When I offered the role to Bharat, naturally, being a good actor he was tied up with lots of works so he told me that he won’t be able to play this role and will work with me in future. Then I took the responsibility of telling him something which I rarely say to an actor. I told him that you surely cannot play this role but as a writer I would say you won’t get such a role quite often in your life. He took a day to decide and the next day he called and said didi, I have thought for the entire night and I want to go ahead with the role. I told him to rethink as I have sympathy for this role; I have seen the character from a very close quarter.”

Have faith on Mishmee Das

The pretty actress has never played such a role before. Her last soap was Zee Bangla's Premer Phande (Ravi Ojha Productions) where she was seen as a married woman. In Gachhkouto, she will be seen as a school student; naturally quite younger than her own age. About Mishmee, Leena said, “I thank Mohor (her character name in Gachhkouto) for accepting the role. I have faith on her that she will listen to us and give her best.”

Sudip Sarkar is this year’s discovery

The talented writer believes that the time to break the stereotype image of a hero in television has come and that’s why she chose Sudip Sarkar to play the male protagonist. She commented, “I think the audience is tired of watching the stereotype hero, even we are tired. I hope Sudip will not be hurt if I speak the truth. Many have questioned his selection as a hero, they are of the opinion that he is a very good actor but not suitable to be a hero. So, my challenge was to make him a hero. I think if he gives his 100 percent in acting, factors like looks, six pack abs won’t matter because in TV we want good acting.”

She continued, “I would say Sudip is my discovery of this year. After seeing his work in Kusum Dola, I thought he must go a long way. The future will say whether I have taken the right decision or not. I would also ask Sudip to accept the challenge.”    

So, gear up for the show! It will start from 26 June, airing every Monday to Friday at 10 pm.