A Serious Man

Snatches of a Ray film,an old man in a railway station,a character from a book he had read ages ago and a few “excruciating” weeks Rahul Bose had spend in Sunderbans. All these contributed in creating “the most challenging character” of his life,Snehamoy,from Aparna Sen’s The Japanese Wife. As director Aparna Sen pointed out at the press conference of the film,the transformation of the dapper and very urbane Rahul Bose into the bumbling,shy village schoolmaster,Snehamoy was no mean task. “I really worked on it. Days spent in a dark,dingy room. Rice with grains of sand in it. But the challenge was worth it. I’m actually quite happy with my performance in the film,” says Bose.

His third collaboration with Sen (they have worked together in Mr & Mrs Iyer and 15 Park Avenue before) was a tumultuous one,concedes Bose. “We would argue a lot,but that’s only because we have tremendous respect for each other. With each film our bond has only grown stronger,” says Bose. Having directed a film himself (Everybody says I’m Fine),did Bose try and give Sen directorial advice? “No,one shouldn’t ever interfere with the director’s vision. Our arguments were restricted to simple actor-director squabbles,” he smiles. Working with co-stars Moushumi Chatterjee and Raima Sen left Bose envious of their natural talents. “Both of them are such spontaneous performers,I couldn’t help feeling a little jealous,” he admits.