Roopa Ganguly at The Park on Monday. Picture by Pabitra Das

After Love Story and Kasturi, Roopa Ganguly is back on national television tonight with the first of 12 telefilms presented by Madhur Bhandarkar as part of Sony’s Specials at 10 series. It may be just for a one-hour show, but Savitri, her story, left Roopa extremely satisfied. t2 caught up with the actress...

What makes you so excited about a one-hour telefilm?

If you watch that one-hour telefilm, you will see it is not looking like television work at all. I can give you an example. There was one particular shot in the telefilm where I am standing on the balcony and there’s this long crane and trolley shot. And for that one shot they had to light the entire house. That lighting took three-and-a-half hours to get right. But when you see the effect it has on screen, you will know the kind of care that has gone into the making. Also the whole script is about me. From the first scene to the last scene, I am there. I remember I did not have breathing time during the shoot because they needed me to be there all the time. I had to work like a dog but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was so carefully crafted. Srabani Deodhar-er moto ekta bhalo director-er shathe kaaj korey khub bhalo laglo... The detailing was just like we do in the films.

Roopa Ganguly with a co-star in Savitri, airing at 10pm tonight on Sony

Was there a scope of interaction with Madhur Bhandarkar?

No, I didn’t have any direct interaction with him. From what I understood, he was involved with the creative aspect. The technical department was separate. Madhur didn’t come on the floor to direct Srabani Deodhar... “ki camera idhar bithao”... She is a National Award-winning director and is quite a capable person. She knows her job.

Your second stint on national TV was 14 years after Mahabharata... Why this gap?

After doing Mahabharata I ran away from Mumbai. I was very quick to realise that this was not my cup of tea. I couldn’t dance around trees and do all that they expected me to do. Then a couple of years back Anurag Basu called me to do Love Story. I admit I went back to Mumbai for money. And working on Love Story was a good experience... Anurag himself used to come down on the sets every now and then. It was a fantastic project. Then I did Kasturi for Balaji. There was a portion of Kasturi which I really enjoyed. There were certain scenes which were coming out really well and the creative heads decided ki Roopaji se yeh scene achcha hota hai... And similar scenes started coming... 15, 20... After one-and-a-half years I got bored. Main koi jatra artiste thodi hoon ki ek scene karti jaoon roz roz... Then I gave them six months notice and walked out of the show.

Did you have to turn down Bengali film offers for your TV work in Mumbai?

No, no, no! Whenever I sign TV projects, the major clause that is there in the contracts is that I should be allowed to do films as and when I want. They have to adjust accordingly. Films is still my priority and will always be. If I have refused any film, it’s not because I was doing TV but because I didn’t want to do it.

Are you planning any more productions after Ek Mutho Chhobi?

I am not doing any more productions. I am getting into direction. By the end of this year, hopefully by Puja, I should get a good producer and start a Bengali film.