(From top) Anu with Prosenjit, Anubhav and Victor;Swastika; Jisshu. Pictures by Aranya Sen

The sand is blisteringly hot; the sea is restless. After a long wait, a shower soaks Puri in the second half of last week, where a star team from Tollywood is camping for about a month.

A portion of the secluded Pearl Beach is swarming with men and machines. Among the sets, camera and floodlights, the tinsel town stars look straight out of a fancy dress competition.

Swastika pirouettes in a parrot green ghagra choli, while Anubhav moves around with a long moustache, red eyes and a tika on his forehead. Prosenjit is all brown hair and beard; so is Ashish Vidyarthi, almost unrecognisable with his straw-hued hair. Jisshu strides in in khaki, while Victor Banerjee sits in a corner in dhoti, kurta and uttariya.

They are all here to shoot for Prashant Nanda’s Kali-Sankar — a multi-starrer, with three heroes and two heroines. The film is simultaneously being shot in Bengali and Oriya. Oriya hero Siddhant replaces Prosenjit; they share the same lady though — bar dancer Anu Chowdhury. Prosenjit is Kali, who is out to avenge his sister’s death after spending 20 years behind bars. He meets Sankar, his long-lost brother (Anubhav), in a temple.

Hooch seller Swastika is in love with Sankar, and she has already shot for a raunchy number, Lala babu lotke gelo. “It was so awkward uttering those words.... My dhaba was made up of real beer bottles. We’ve wasted so much beer,” she chuckles. Jisshu Sengupta plays an honest cop in the film.

Nanda, who is producing Kali-Sankar along with S.N. Shau, is busy shooting the climax. “Though we are shooting in Puri, I am not using the beach. In the film the place will be projected as a village,” he says.

The stars are making the most of this 35-day shoot by the Bay. “It’s like a family picnic. Arpita (wife) and Trishanjit (son) have joined me. After shooting, we chat and dive into the swimming pool. I haven’t been able to take a dip in the sea though. And I am yet to visit the Jagannath temple. I love the anna bhog there,” says Prosenjit.

Jisshu’s wife Nilanjanaa and daughter Sara gave him company for some days too. While everyone else was tied up, Jisshu frolicked with his family in the salty waves. “We went for a swim. There’s a river, Anjana, which meets the sea. Swastika and I actually swam down the river to take a dip!” shares Jisshu. Swastika also took time off to go shopping with Oriya hero Anubhav as guide. “Anubhav is a superstar here and we got mobbed the other day when we went to buy a sari for my mother. And since half of Puri is full of Calcuttans, I wasn’t spared either,” she laughs.

The baddies are having a mixed day in office. Shooting begins for a fight sequence, where Prosenjit beats up Ashish Vidyarthi. It’s Siddhant’s turn then to land some more blows on Ashish for the Oriya version. After several rounds of rehearsals and takes, Ashish looks as if he has had enough for the day. A crew member shouts “Aar marish naare” and everyone breaks into laughter.

Ashish’s partner in crime is Rajatava Dutta, waiting on the sidelines and humming Ek cup chaye ami tomake chai. Shot over, Ashish joins him and sings Kabhi alvida naa kehna.

It’s time for us to say adieu to the star team.