Whenever Bollywood actresses have done Bengali films in the past, they have “never been heard”. From Aishwarya Rai (Chokher Bali) to Manisha Koirala (Khela) to Bipasha Basu (Shob Choritro Kalponik), the B-town beauties have always been dubbed by local actresses or voice artistes. But for Paanch Adhyay, her first regional film, Dia Mirza has dubbed her Bengali lines herself.
Dia, whose mother is a Bengali, plays the half-Bengali Ishita, an English school teacher, in the film co-starring Priyanshu Chatterjee and the legend Soumitra Chatterjee. “I would say my Bangla was decent before I filmed Paanch Adhyay and post filming, spending time in Kolkata, conversing with so many people during my time there, it has only gotten better. I still would like to learn to think in Bangla,” says Dia.
Paanch Adhyay, written and directed by first-timer Pratim D. Gupta, is the journey of a couple across the five chapters of their lives. “My character travels through the ups and downs of marriage and the poignancy of love… lost and found,” adds Dia. “I am at a head space now where I am looking to expand my horizons. Bangla is my mother tongue and it makes all the more special that my first regional film is Bengali.”
The film, which has music by Shantanu Moitra, is currently in post-production and is eyeing a late summer release this year in Bengal and the metro cities.
