In a little over a decade, Rituparno Ghosh has established himself as one of the best directors in contemporary Indian cinema.

Though he has largely worked in Bengali, his native language, with stories and themes that are rooted in Bengali culture, his films have broken geographical and linguistic barriers to reach out to national and international audiences.

His new film Khela (Game) has several Unique Selling Points. USP Number One - Manisha Koirala makes her first appearance in a Bengali film. USP Number Two – Rituparno Ghosh is tackling a child actor for the first time.

USP Number Three – Prosenjit, Bangla cinema's reigning star, is playing a filmmaker for the first time. USP Number Four – the music for the film has been composed by 21 Grams, an innovative music band of Kolkata.

"I try to analyse the reasons of vulnerability in a man or a woman, " says Ghosh. "If I am to portray a man as a protagonist I'll have to establish why he is vulnerable and only then can I move on to the other aspects of the story."

Unlike his earlier films, which focused often on women and their relationships with men and other women, Khela zeroes in on the almost electric chemistry that evolves between Raja (Prosenjit), a passionate filmmaker who refuses to make compromises, and Abhirup, a small boy (Akashneel Dutt Mukherjee) he picks, kidnaps rather, to work in his film.

"I play Raja, a director committed to making a film without compromises. Raja quits a good job in an ad agency to make this film. His wife Sheila (Manisha Koirala) wants to have a kid. Though they are very much in love, Raja refuses to have a kid because he is not emotionally or financially prepared to have a child, " says Prosenjit.

"Embittered by this lack of understanding of her need, Sheila moves back to her parents' house while Raja finds a producer in a friend of his who is ready to put in the money. The cast is finalized but they need a child to play a major role.

They finally find a boy who would fit the character but his family refuses to let him act. Abhirup calls Raja up and actually asks him to kidnap him for three weeks and do the film. Unknown to the rest of his unit, Raja engineers the fake kidnap and shooting begins.

But all hell breaks loose because the parents are hunting for their missing son. The film unit catches on. They try to persuade Raja to return the child because it could take them behind bars, " elaborates Prosenjit, thrilled that Khela is finally seeing the light of the theatres and the audience.

For Prosenjit, Khela is a kind of work-sabbatical from the masala films he does day in and day out.

It is a welcome break for an actor who needs this histrionic and career diversion with films that go deeper than the glitzy surface of loud singing, colourful romancing, jazzy dancing and fisticuffs galore.

"The best thing about Rituparno is that over the years we have developed an excellent rapport. He never thrusts the character on the actor. By the time I face the cameras, I am ready, thanks to the pre-shoot discussions we have during the script-reading sessions.

I am prepped up with what the character demands. He also gives cues to his actors such as telling me to behave like an adult with the kid.

I try to assist him in whatever little way I can, such as creating my look for the film. This helps us to give of our best, " explains Prosenjit.

"Khela is a film about various relationships interwoven within a single plot. The characters of Raja, Sheila, Anjali (Raima Sen) and Abhirup are ordinary characters. But they are all caught up in a situation that changes everyone's lives.

The contribution of Saregama Films in the making of this film was very important. I am also glad that I had the company of Prosenjit, Manisha Koirala, Raima Sen, Akashneel Dutt Mukherjee and Roopali Ganguly to make this wonderful film, " says Ghosh, unwilling to give out more.

Raima plays a fashion designer friend of Prosenjit who is called to help him with the child. She is in love with Raja but Raja still loves his wife deeply and is not interested in a relationship. And what was Manisha like on the sets of her maiden Bangla film?

"She is a wonderful actress and a wonderful lady. She worked hard to produce the natural look of a typical Bengali wife. She imbibed the character within herself and her timing was perfect.

I found her to be one of the most disciplined actors ever so far as coming on the sets is concerned, interacting with the others on the sets go, the works, " says Ghosh.

The irony Ghosh has tried to subtly bring out lying within the finely layered emotions in these complex relationships is in Raja's growing involvement with the boy vis-à-vis his personal stand on not wanting a child of his own.

"This is one of Rituparno's rare outdoor films. Only 20% of the film has been shot indoors while the rest has been shot extensively on location which has given the film a very colourful look, " Prosenjit sums up.

The talented Aveek Mukherjee is director of cinematography, Indraneel Ghosh is production designer and Arghya Kamal Mitra has edited Khela.

"I am hoping that the contemporary sensibilities of Grams 21, enriched by the voices of gifted singers like Nachiketa and Sreekanto Acharya will rub off on our film, " Ghosh clams up.