'Michael' to be premiered at Toronto fest

Mumbai: Debutant director Ribhu Dasgupta, whose Michael is the only Hindi film selected for world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, says he feels honoured but is also nervous.

"It's absolutely an honour, but I am very nervous. I don't know what I will do there! I heard there will be a Q&A session. I really don't know what to say," Dasgupta said in an interview.

Set in Kolkata, Michael is a character-driven psychological thriller, which captures a father-son relationship. Anurag Kashyap has produced the movie.

Though he comes from a film background - he is the son of Bengali filmmaker Raja Dasgupta and grandson of eminent documentary filmmaker Harisadhan Dasgupta, it was English musician Cat Steven's song Father and Son, which was Ribhu's first inspiration to make the film.

"Cat Steven's song 'Father and Son' was the first inspiration. I also believe that a relationship between a father and son is more subtle than a relationship between a mother and son. With mother it's very vocal and informal, but with father it's more of understanding and subtle. I wanted to explore that," he said.

Naseeruddin Shah is playing the lead in the film and Dasgupta says the veteran actor was in his mind while sketching the character.

"I couldn't think of anyone else who can portray the character better than him. It was absolute pleasure to get him on board to play the role," he said.

The film also features Bengali actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Rudranil Ghosh in pivotal roles. Besides, the din of North Kolkata plays an important character in his narrative.

"I have portrayed North Kolkata because I love that part of the city as it maintains the decadence of the heritage of Kolkata. When you will see the film, you will know why I chose that part of the city in particular."

"Any film that comes out from any city or state has to have some social, cultural, and political peek to it. It's not the main part of the film, but this noisy and grungy part of the city has an important role in the film," said the young director.