Hindi films never really excited me

A hard-to-miss banner in the studio reads,Congratulations to veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee for winning the Dadasaheb Phalke award. Chatterjee,though,betrays no excitement. It is special,to be placed alongside the likes of Satyajit Ray,but I have never been taken in by awards. A lot of lobbying and politicking goes behind them. Thats not honest recognition of your work, says Chatterjee who had turned down the National Award,before finally accepting it in 2007.

It has never bothered Chatterjee to have been identified as Ray8217;s hero, despite having worked in different moulds in romantic films in the 60s and 70s,Bengali potboilers in the 90s,in theatre and its less refined counterpart,jatra,in a career spanning over five decades. Rays hero is an integral part of Soumitra Chatterjee,the actor, he says. But his equation with the director remains special. I was doing theatre with Sisir Bhaduri for quite some time and working as an announcer for All India Radio. A friend told me that Satyajit Ray was casting for Aparajito,the second in the Apu-trilogy. I auditioned for it. Ray liked me,but said I was too old to play the college-going Apu. It was a mix of excitement and disappointment. When he called me back for Apur Sansar,I was not only glad,it was a vindication of sorts for me.

As an actor,Chatterjee has never been one to underestimate his audience. How do you think Laurence Olivier did so many things at a time? Juggling many roles is a bit like cricket. I deal with it one ball at a time. I let it come to me and then decide if I should let it go or hit it to a boundary. At the end of the day,no ball is any less important than another. What is important is how I plan to deal with it. I did 14 films with Ray. I might have not done as many films with Tapan Sinha,Ajoy Kar or Mrinal Sen,but they are equally integral to my development as an actor, he says.

Chatterjee8217;s forte has been his repertoire of characters he has played Ray8217;s popular detective Feluda with as much ease as he displayed in his portrayal of the swashbuckling villain in Tapan Sinha8217;s Jhinder Bandi. But now,he says,the quality of regional cinema has declined. They dont make films in Bengal like they did in the past. I dont watch a lot of films because of disinterest,and lack of time and energy, he says. Hindi films werent an impossibility,but Chatterjee says he had no inclination to look elsewhere. Better films were being made in Bengal than in Bombay. Hindi films never really excited me a lot. Tarpor ektu boka o chhilam I was a little silly too. There was more money in Bombay,more star status,but all that didnt attract me then, he says. But Chatterjee says he has no regrets. I have worked with Ray,Im sure my films have been watched by people the world over, he says.

A staunch Left supporter,Chatterjee had been an unwitting casualty of the Trinamool Congress-led governments Left clean-up,after they came to power. He was removed from the Kolkata film festival committees,which he headed. Chatterjees play Raja Lear,was allegedly prevented from being staged in any theatre hall in the city last year. It was stopped. It didnt stop running just like that, he says. How did the artiste in him react? What can I say,its their loss. Theres a lot of difference between politicking and political opinion. I am an informed individual,its natural that I have a political consciousness,a set of beliefs. I see no wrong in following or standing by them. But I dont understand harping on peoples political identity to disrupt his creative engagements, he says.

An assistant shoots an anxious glance at him from the floor. Chatterjee is quick to take the cue. I have to go. I have run my course, he says. He looks frail as he makes his way to the floor. But the spirit is still robust. I do films because thats my vocation. And not working is probably more tiring than working, he says.