The National Award winning Kalpurush (Memories in the Mist) will be finally released in Kolkata after a two year wait. Director Buddhadeb Dasgupta who bagged his fifth National Award for the film, is elated.

He points out that the film toplining Mithun Chakraborty, Rahul Bose and Sameera Reddy has been screened at 40-50 film , festivals across the globe including Toronto and Berlin.

In May it will travel to the Madrid International Film Festival where Dasgupta is being honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

It will be screened as part of a six-film-retrospective. Yet, all these years he's been denied a commercial release in India.

"That was so painful because I wanted my people to see the film too," says Dasgupta.

He had earlier made another film for Jhamu Sugandh Swapner Din (Chased by Dreams), which had bagged a National Award too. Within weeks of wrapping up the film, Sugandh had another project.

"Normally I take a long break between films but I started Kalpurush, six-eight months after Swapner Din. Jhamu has been a very supportive producer," says Dasgupta.

Out of the cans
However, Sugandh inexplicably went underground, thumbing down offers to release the films. It was only recently that Sugandh finally sold the all-India rights of both Kalpurush and Sapner Din to Shree Vengatesh Films.

Kalpurush is being released in Kolkata this week followed by an all-India release. Swapner Din could make it to the theatres by June, three years after it was wrapped up.

Won't coming up against the star-studded Tashan besides Sirf-Life is Greener on the other side and Kahani Gudiya Ki affect the film's commercial prospects?

"I have my own audience who will see my film, irrespective of the competition," asserts Dasgupta.

"The release date was finalised only 10 days ago. Yet the film will be released in 10 theatres across Kolkata including the Nandan."

Oh baba
Kalpurush revolves around the estranged relationship between a father and son with a misunderstanding leading to a break-up in the family. It is a screen adaptation of Dasgupta's novel America America.

"When I wrote the book I had no plans of making it into a film. But after my father's death I developed it into a screenplay. There was so much baba must have wanted to tell me and vice versa. So much must have been left unsaid for lack of time or because I could never gather the courage to have a heart-to-heart talk with him. I've used this film to put those thoughts into words. Today, hours before the film's premiere, I can almost sense my father's presence," Dasgupta says emotionally.

"Both he and ma were my best friends who taught me so much about life.. the life you see in my movies."