For the first time in over three decades, Kolkata International Film Festival had a live musical recital before the screening of a film. Monika Rosca took the stage to play 15 minutes of Chopin before the start of a film on the life of the legendary Franco-Polish Romantic Age composer. The pianist featured in another film that screened the day after, In Desert and Wilderness, which is based on a children’s classic and is the second most viewed film in the history of Polish cinema. t2 met the actress turned musician.
You are a professional pianist. How did it feel to play in a movie hall?
First time in a movie festival, first time playing before a movie. It’s not common practice but it was a very nice idea.
Was it a coincidence that you were already visiting KIFF for your film In Desert and Wilderness?
No, it was planned by the director of the Polish Institute in Delhi (Malgorzata Wejsis-Golebiak). She wanted to present me as a pianist and as an actress. I also received a very touching welcoming letter from the film festival.
Taking you back to your childhood, is it true that close to 4,000 girls had auditioned for the role of the nine-year-old Nell in the film In Desert and Wilderness?
Oh, yeah, there were lots of auditions. It lasted six months. My mom and I had to travel by train to Warsaw because I stay in Lodz, not far from Warsaw. We would visit the studio. My mom would always sit outside waiting for me, knitting a long sweater. People at the studio used to say: “Madam, by the time you finish this sweater, we are sure that it will be your daughter who is chosen.” It was a long process. In between, they would come out and tell her: “Your daughter is doing extremely well. She’s so photogenic; we are sure that it will be her.” She had to get leave from her job. I had to get leave from my school for those one-day trips. Then suddenly, one day, I received a telegram, saying, “Please come for the costume trials.”
It was a historical movie (set in the backdrop of the late 19th century Mahdist war in Sudan). So, they had to design costumes.
Was it fun, or were you overwhelmed?
It was fun for me. I had read the book already and loved the story. It was the first book of my life, when I was five years old. I liked that she had blonde hair, and that it was in Africa.
Did they film on location?
Yes. Maybe one scene was in a studio. Everything else was outside, in the natural settings of Sudan, Egypt, and a bit in Bulgaria. I took long leave from school. My mother had to quit her job. My father took care of my brother. It was not easy for my family. But what did I know? I was a child.
Your parents had that vision to take you to the audition.
No, no. The school suggested my name and another girl’s to the film producers who came to look for children. They went to several schools across the country. Plus, people were coming to the studio directly for auditions.
How long did the shoot go on?
Several years, because there were obstacles in the production process. They sometimes thought they would never finish it. I was nine when I was chosen and by the time of the premiere of the movie, I was 12. I was growing like a normal child. I had beautiful, long leather boots with buttons. Luckily, they were still fitting.
You must have felt like a princess when you walked into the premiere.
The director has written a book about the movie. He said we were all very nervous before the premiere. The only person who was really calm was Monica. (Laughs) I just didn’t care. Because I thought it was just as it is meant to be — people will come and love us. But he knew what it meant to take up such an iconic text of children’s literature, and not being able to deliver, because everyone would be dissecting it.
It must be the same for the Chopin film (that was screened after her recital)?
Yes. This composer is our national hero. Everybody in Poland has Chopin in his heart. And then they will go to the cinema and may say: “No, it’s not the same like I would want it to be.” Here also some people had visions about this book, and now they see the film version. But I think they liked us — me and my partner, Tomas (Medrzak). I think we did a good job. He was really brave, because he had lots of scenes where he had to be brave.
You attended music school. Were you inclined musically since your childhood?
Probably my mother thought so. She took me there to take the exam. In the morning, we had all this math, physics, Polish language and gymnastics — what the child learns in mainstream school. Then in the afternoon, there is music theory, music history and instrument lessons. I had piano and flute.
Have you performed before in India?
Yes. I was in Mumbai 20 years ago. I was a pianist at the Taj Mahal Hotel from the mid-90s to the early 2000s. I came to Calcutta too at the time and played at the opening of the Polish honorary consulate. It was in a beautiful garden; I don’t know where it was. I remember the beautiful hotel and the swimming pool there, but there was no time to look around. I used to know the actress Leela Naidu when I was in Mumbai. She gave me permission to call her my second mother. She had mentioned me in her memoir. She was so pretty! She had acted in the Merchant Ivory film The Householder (1963). I was very upset when I heard she had passed away.
Sudeshna Banerjee