One’s the senior, one’s the rookie. One cracks jokes, the other cracks cases with a straight face. But put them in the crisp white uniform of the police, and they’re unstoppable. We’re talking about Ritwick Chakraborty and Vikram Chatterjee, the fiery cop duo in the much-anticipated action thriller Mrigaya, which hits theatres today. With a multi-star cast that includes Anirban Chakrabarti, Saurav Das, Rezwan Sheikh, Priyanka Sarkar and Susmita Chatterjee, Mrigaya promises to be a gripping ride.
Interestingly, the dynamic between Debanjan (Ritwick) and Animesh (Vikram) somewhat mirrors the actors in real life too. Debanjan is the senior — quirky, sarcastic, a reel-and-meme addict with a weakness for junk food. Sounds moderately like Ritwick himself, known for bringing good vibes and wisecracks to every set. Animesh, on the other hand, is all grit — the sharp-eyed, brooding new joinee with laser focus, not unlike Vikram’s own composed demeanour. Together, they’re chaos and calm, laughter and logic, a buddy cop energy that’s both fun and fiery. From the first poster that took over the city to the film’s promotions, this duo has sparked major buzz. The Telegraph sat down with this cop combo for a candid chat about their film, their friendship, and their experience on the sets of Mrigaya.
Has an on-screen and off-screen bro-code been developed between the two of you?
Ritwick: The characters of Animesh and Debanjan are completely different, even though they work together. Both have their own specialities and approach a case in very different ways, that’s on-screen. Off-screen, I’d say Vikram is a very serious person. On set, Anirban (Anirban Chakrabarti) and I were always laughing and joking around, while Vikram remained quite serious! But he had mentioned that he opens up gradually, and that’s exactly what happened. Over time, he opened up, and now we’ve become pretty good friends. I really enjoyed working with him.
Vikram: I’ve known Ritwickda for a while now, and I truly believe he’s the best actor we have. So, if there was any kind of bro-code, for me it was about observing his craft and seeing what I could imbibe for my own future projects. He has a great sense of humour too, and all of that combined made it a learning experience.
You guys are coming together in a film for the first time. How was the experience of working with each other?
Ritwick: We were both in Shaheb Bibi Golaam, but we never shared screen space. Mrigaya gave us that opportunity to work together more closely and for a longer time. Working with Vikram, I’ve come to understand that he’s a very serious actor, deeply committed to his work. It’s because of this seriousness and dedication that he’s achieving such great results and landing such diverse roles, as we’ve seen in Pariah, Raas, and now Mrigaya. Indian actors often fear being typecast, but that’s clearly not the case with him. He’s a young actor, yet he’s getting the chance to play a wide range of characters, and it’s always a good feeling to witness that kind of dedication.
Vikram: I’ve always known Ritwickda, and he’s a brilliant actor. I was quietly working beside him, fully aware that he was going to deliver a brilliant performance, so I never even felt the need to compete. Working with him was genuinely enlightening.
Did you learn any new skills for the role?
Ritwick: Definitely! The story has been written by officer Debasis Datta, and we spent a lot of time with him. When you spend time with someone from a particular profession, you inevitably learn the ins and outs of that world. For this role, I even learnt how to handle an AK-47 — something you only get to do in films, not in real life (laughs). Also, as you can see, the uniform we’re wearing is very authentic, the signature all-white of the Kolkata Police.
Vikram: These kinds of skills had to be developed early on in my career for some of my cop roles; they weren’t something I had to learn specifically for this film. However, for this film, I think I had to unlearn a lot of things because of how Abhirup (Ghosh; director) wanted the character to be pitched. The character was very different — he wanted someone stoic, with no expressions. Very flat delivery. He just speaks in a direct, straightforward manner, and I realised that’s actually very difficult to pull off. It might seem like the easiest thing, a character who shows no expression, just a blank look and flat dialogue. But it’s not. As Indian actors, we’re so used to expressing everything with our faces, often even unconsciously. So to strip that away and keep everything restrained was a real challenge.
Ritwick, this is your first full-fledged action film.
Ritwick: The way the story is told and the character is portrayed, roles like this don’t come to me very often. People usually don’t picture me in action films, and Mrigaya is a full-fledged commercial action film made for a mass audience.
Vikram, tell us about your look in the film.
Vikram: I really didn’t want to do it, but the director forced me to go clean-shave (laughs). Every time I’ve had to clean-shave my face in the past, people wouldn’t even talk to me or look at me properly! They’d ask me to come back once I’d grown my stubble again. It completely changes how I look — and in this case, it created a very different character altogether. It definitely made Animesh look distinct from the other cops I’ve played.
The film has a lot of action sequences.
Ritwick: Shooting the action sequences was a fun experience, although quite challenging. We had action directors who, with great precision, helped us make the scenes look very realistic.
Vikram: I got hurt, actually, because I started shooting just seven days after a knee surgery. I had injured my knee during the shoot of Pariah, during one of the action sequences. So I underwent the surgery. The healing time for robotic surgery doesn’t necessarily shorten, but they told me I’d have minimal movement in about two weeks. By Day 10, I was back on the shooting floor. By Day 14 or 15, I was already shooting my first action sequence. But considering I was fresh out of surgery, I had to say no to some brilliantly designed sequences. Thankfully, Ritwickda stepped in for some of them, and others were modified.
Would you ever consider playing a superhero in a Tollywood film?
Ritwick: Of course! Other film industries, like the Malayalam film industry, have done superhero films that are very Indianised. So if Tollywood ever makes a superhero film, I’d definitely be up for it. But if the superhero needs big muscles, then I’m out, unless he relies on his wit, like I do. That would suit me perfectly! (laughs)
Vikram: I really want to play a Bengali superhero. In all these years, I’ve wondered why no one has ever thought of creating a proper Bengali superhero. That’s something I’m really keen on doing. Pariah is probably the closest we’ve come to that — and since it’s a franchise film, I hope we get to build a bigger version of it. But still, I want to play a typical Bengali superhero. You know, someone who wears a dhoti, sneakers, and goes bare-body, it would be brilliant! (Laughs) I really hope someone writes it. And if not, maybe I’ll convince one of my director friends to make it. We can name him something like Moshai!
Is there a particular role or film where you first noticed or really admired each other’s work?
Ritwick: I think Vikram has an impressive body of work, it’s hard to pick just one. I’ve been watching him since his early days, and he has consistently delivered great performances. Over time, he has only grown into an even better and dedicated actor.
Vikram: I think he’s always existed in great space. But the first film where I truly took notice of Ritwickda’s performance was Shobdo, directed by Kaushik Ganguly, where he plays the role of a foley artist. That was the film that made me sit back and really appreciate what a brilliant performer he is. Of course, he had done great work even before that — in films like Cross Connection and others — but Shobdo was the one that really stood out for me.
Your character has a keen sense of observation. How is Animesh like Vikram?
Vikram: I feel they’re very different. Animesh doesn’t have a sense of humour, nor does he know how to respond to it. I may not have a great sense of humour myself, but at least I know how to react to it. That, I think, is a primary difference between the two. Animesh is perpetually grumpy. He doesn’t smile and is extremely dedicated to his job. The only thing he trusts is his own observation.