CHOWRINGHEE
Drama on 3, BBC Radio 3
Mani Sankar Mukerji’s story of life in a post-independence Calcutta hotel adapted by Roger James Elsgood and recorded on location in Calcutta in November 2011 with an all-Bengali cast. With Joy Sengupta in the lead role of Sankar.
Set in 1960s Calcutta, Chowringhee is a saga of the intimate lives of managers, employees and guests at one of Calcutta’s largest hotels, the Shahjahan. Shankar, the newest recruit, recounts the stories of several people whose lives come together in the suites, restaurants, bar and backrooms of the hotel. As both observer and participant in the events, he inadvertently peels off the layers of everyday existence to expose the seamy underbelly of unfulfilled desires, broken dreams, callous manipulation and unbidden tragedy. What unfolds is not just the story of individual lives but also the chronicle of a metropolis.
Directed by Willi Richards
Adapted and produced by Roger James Elsgood
