Working miracles

What attracted you to doing MahanagarKolkata?
Rongili is a beautifully crafted character that caters to the dilemmas,the confusion,the drama and the lifestyle of the woman of today. After I heard the script,I felt pulled towards Rongili. The way director Suman has dealt with objects of significance in a womans life makes Rongili authentic and credible. Her relationship with Rohit comprises all shades of emotion.

How did you work on the character?
I was completely bowled over by the character and the script. The credit for visualising the character goes entirely to my director. He has gifted Rongili with a world of her own where she moves freely ignoring the taboos and whims of social norms. She finds fulfilment within herself without needing to rely on anything or anyone extraneous.

Of late,you are increasingly inclined towards variety and versatility.
Versatality and talent go hand in hand. I think my full potential has not been explored yet. Versatility is a relative term. I think I have been engaging myself in constructive work for a long time. I have done off-beat roles in mainstream films too. I am open to working with Hindi and Bangla,everything. I take up my assignments based on the content – the story that must have something for me to contribute significantly. I am trying my best to avoid clichés. The director is the most important person for me because I believe that a good director can work miracles.

Isnt it a tightrope walk between Bollywood and Tollygunge in terms of time and place management?
I think it is determination that ultimately leads you to your destination. I am optimistic,hardworking and always trying to strike a balance between Mumbai and Kolkata. It is difficult,but I have always dealt with difficulty easily. Catching the first flight out and the last flight in is now a part of my weekly routine. The only time I can catch up on lost sleep is on my flights. But I have no complaints. I have made my choice and am responsible for it.

Have you enjoyed your work in the recent Hindi films?
I always enjoy my work. Hindi films or Bangla does not make any difference to me as an actress. I try to extract the essence of a given role and translate it in my performance. My hunger to perform better haunts me. I wait for that magic to happen everyday. My work in Hindi films has been appreciated. Critics and the audience liked my work in Mittal v/s Mittal and Main Meri Patni Aur Woh. I am looking forward to the release of Donno Y… Na Jaane Kyon,Life Express,SRK,BBD etc. I expected a lot from Bumm Bumm Bole but it did not work.

What are your forthcoming Bangla films?
After MahanagarKolkata,there is Anjan Das Bedeni in which I play a dark-skinned gypsy opposite Rajesh Sharma and Indraneil Sengupta,Pinaki Choudhurys Arohan wherein I play a young widow. I play a documentary filmmaker in Agunpakhi. In Handcuff,I play a university student in the first half and a lawyer in the second half. I am excited about Dulal Lahiris Brishtir Chhayachhobi because I have three heroes romancing me.

How was Chandan Roy Sanyal to work with?
Chandan has been a great co-actor to work with. He has an interesting look. Chandan and I are there in the first and the third stories. These are – Ek Tukro Nyloner Dori and Angshik Chandragrahan. He plays Rohit,my estranged husband. This film is based on three stories by Nabarun Bhattacharya,but they are interconnected.

I am a directors actor – Chandan Roy Sanyal

How did Suman select you for MahanagarKolkata?
Suman knew me for a long time. But when he saw Kaminey he could not recognise me in the film. As for Mahanagar …,I fell in love with the character of Rohit because it is as complicated as Mikhail in Kaminey was. I found it challenging. I was fascinated by the script. My Bengali is fairly good and it worked for me and for Sumanda.

You had the opportunity of working with the two most beautiful actresses in Bengali cinema. What was the experience like?
Rituparna Sengupta is the most famous Bengali actress in Bengali cinema. I have practically grown up watching her romancing Prosenjit on screen. I was shocked when I heard I was going to do bedroom scenes with both Rituparna and Sreelekha,two beautiful women. I was a bundle of nerves. In fact,I finished an entire bottle of deodorant before I shot those scenes with them. All I could do was to praise their beauty from a distance as I felt very shy.

Youve done a nude scene in the film. What is it about?
It is quite a simple scene really and nothing hot. It is a scene that shows me taking off my clothes to look at myself like we do when we are alone in a room and look at our ageing bodies getting closer to extinction.

Whatwould you call yourself; a natural actor,a trained actor or a directors actor?
I am a directors actor. When a director controls you the way he wants for the character and the film,an actors job is half-done,especially when you have a brilliant script with a well-etched character and a sharp and transparent director. Sumanda is not very rigid and lets me do my own thing so it was smooth working. I do not believe in any particular school of acting.

You instantly connected with the audience in Kaminey. What was the struggle like before this happened?
I began acting under the late Habib Tanvir and then with Alyque Padamsee. In Mumbai,I worked with Atul Kumar and Quasar Thakore Padamsee. I opened my theatre company called Proscenium directing and acting in three plays. But the golden opportunity came when I was chosen by Tim Supple for his landmark production A Midsummer Nights Dream that took me across the world for three years. Then Kaminey happened. I walked around production offices with ten rupees in my pocket,a water bottle and three copies of very bad pictures clicked at cheap studios for 50 bucks with negatives that wore out due to overuse. I worked as a runner in theatre productions,taught at a junior college,sold newspapers and did bit roles in television and films. But my goal was single and I never lost sight of it. I wanted to become a renowned film actor.

What about Vishal Bhardwaj?
He is my mentor and I will always be in awe of and respectful for believing in me. I am happy when people recognised my work as Mikhail and it is all due to Vishal-sir. He gave me wings and taught me to fly. Sumanda is completely different both in approach and in style.
I am blessed for having had the opportunity of working with two eminent filmmakers of contemporary Indian cinema.

Have you signed any more Bengali films after MahanagarKolkata?
I was offered a few films,but I am not doing any at the moment because I want to see how this film works for me. Will do one film a year if time permits. The offers that I got were too intellectual for me to understand.