MUMBAI: Writer-director-producer Arnab Chatterjee, whose debut Hindi feature Murderbaad is generating buzz ahead of its theatrical release, has spoken out about the logistical and financial difficulties faced during the film’s first schedule in West Bengal.
Chatterjee revealed that the initial shoot in Bagdogra, Siliguri, became a deeply challenging experience due to complications involving local federation rules, redundant crew mandates, and last-minute harassment that impacted the entire unit, including industry veterans like cinematographer Binod Pradhan.
Chatterjee detailed the ordeal and told us, “It was the very first schedule of the film, and we were a unit of nearly 180 travelling from Mumbai to Bagdogra (Siliguri). The local federation in Kolkata has a self-declared rule of a certain number of technicians which a producer has to hire during shoot in Bengal. This rule becomes extremely unfair for producers with budget constraints, irrespective of Bengali or Hindi films. The whole Bangla film fraternity is suffering from this issue, since the business is already affected post-Covid. So you end up with your already signed-up crew from Mumbai, an additional crew from Kolkata whose services are redundant, and in addition to that, you have to bear travel, food and stay expenses for the whole schedule obviously."
He further adds, "To go with this, there are several local line-production loopholes which are exercised to take advantage of producers. I realised this game on the second day of shoot, and took an overnight call to cut short the schedule to 4 days from 7, which didn’t set right with the locals. This resulted in a 25-hour long shift without breaks, just so I could finish the pending scenes and leave for Mumbai with the unit immediately. To add to the harassment, my entire unit was locked up in several hotels we were lodged in, an instant demand to clear all payments, and there was no time given to tally expenses. More than 100 tickets in waste, several crew members in distress, including my senior DOP, Mr Binod Pradhan. As the director while on set, and producer after pack-up, it got very taxing to address all these production hassles on spot, and simultaneously direct the film keeping shoot quality and productivity in place. I’m glad we overcame this schedule and despite budgets shooting up to nearly double of what was on paper, we managed to resume shoot soon after returning from Bagdogra. While making an independent film, if the very first schedule jolts you financially, you wire yourself differently for the remaining shoot as producer-director. All of this is part of the learning process, and on hindsight, I wish all of them well who have unintentionally taught me the harder way.”
Despite the setback, Murderbaad was able to resume filming shortly after the truncated Bagdogra schedule, and Chatterjee has praised his cast and crew for standing by the project through trying circumstances.
The incident has once again brought attention to the ongoing concerns faced by producers working in Bengal, especially those operating outside of large studio systems. Industry insiders have long expressed frustration at what many view as outdated or exploitative regional practices, which can significantly disrupt shoots and inflate budgets, especially for independent filmmakers.
Murderbaad, backed by Reliance Entertainment and produced under Chatterjee’s ACjee Entertainment banner, is slated for a theatrical release on 18th July 2025. The film stars Nakul Roshan Sahdev, Kanikka Kapur, Sharib Hashmi, Manish Chaudhari, Saloni Batra, Amole Gupte, and Aanjjan Srivastav, with cinematography by Binod Pradhan and music by Rickie.
Even as anticipation builds for its release, Chatterjee’s experience during the film’s first schedule stands as a stark reminder of the behind-the-scenes struggles that often accompany bold new voices in Indian cinema.
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