The new-look Rahul Bose at Fame (South City) on Saturday. Picture by Aranya Sen

RAHUL BOSE was in town on Saturday to not only inaugurate the Gold Class lounge at Fame (South City) but also catch a special show of his latest release, Shaurya, with members of the old-age home Nabanir. He spoke to t2 on a host of things...

Why the moustache?

That’s for a new film called Mumbai Chaka Chak. I play a BMC sweeper who comes from a village. So, it’s appropriate.

When it comes to the choice of films, you insist they be original. Did you really not know that Shaurya was a copy of A Few Good Men?

Actually, I had never seen A Few Good Men till two weeks ago.... Yes, there are many similarities but Shaurya is not a copy or a remake. A remake would be like Martin Scorsese remade The Departed (from Infernal Affairs). Shaurya definitely has a lot of inspirations from and parallels with A Few Good Men, but the issue that is discussed is wonderful. Who discusses an issue like discrimination against Muslims? Where has it ever been discussed? Also, my character is nothing like Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise is a star lawyer. Mine is not. Till the end, Siddhanth doesn’t fight legally. He fights emotionally. He is a bad lawyer.

A script that sounds like a copy; a director who has made the forgettable Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye... why did you do Shaurya?

The story rang true. I thought the cast was very well put together. Of course, I had said yes before the rest of the cast. And lastly, Samar (Khan) came to me saying that he was humiliated after Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye. He said he would like people to respect him after his next film. That was a very moving thing. So I thought if I could help this guy; I felt good about it. Yes, the film has flaws but the second half is crackling. In terms of my work, barring a couple of scenes, it’s a film I am happy with. I rate Shaurya in the middle somewhere. Not as bad as Bombay Boys, not as good as Kaalpurush.

The consensus is that Kay Kay Menon has eaten you up in the three scenes he has...

My character is supposed to be eaten up by Kay Kay’s character. The actor wasn’t eaten up. If people mistake actors for characters, it’s okay, I have nothing to say. In the three-four scenes, he has all the attention. That’s what the film needs. I have no problems with that. If people think I am not acting, it’s their problem. If they think that’s not a calibre of acting, I can’t teach them, I can’t defend my position. I think everybody has a right to have an opinion but everyone’s opinion can be right or wrong. It doesn’t matter. We have become too sensitive as a country towards criticism. We should be more tolerant towards the other viewpoint.

For every person who has said to me that you have carried the film, there has been one person who has said Kay Kay was fantastic. It’s more important what’s happening to the film as a whole. Many people said after watching English August that Rahul Bose had done nothing but today when you ask people about English August they will say it’s one of the finest pieces of acting I have done. In Mr & Mrs Iyer, a lot of people praised Konkona after the film released but today they talk about my performance. The question is if I wasn’t in Shaurya what would the film be? If I was insecure as an actor and I shouted in those four scenes with Kay Kay, what would those scenes be like? These are questions I can’t tell people. All judgments are valid but I know that those four scenes with Kay Kay are my best scenes in the movie. Whether Kay Kay eats me up or I eat him, makes no difference to me.

Talking of emotions, you lost your father during the making of Shaurya. Did that affect your performance?

(Pause) Not at all. No excuses there. Personally it might have been difficult, but when the camera was on, I was acting. It was emotionally exhausting but people who have seen Shaurya have said that I have not looked better before. I worked out a lot for the film in a different way. Could I have acted better had my father been alive? No. It was in Kaalpurush that I played my father a lot. There you will see a lot of my father. But in Shaurya I didn’t think of my dad and break down. No, I didn’t.

You are getting back to direction after seven years with Moth Smoke. Would you have made a better debut if you were starting out as director now?

I would have made a better Everybody Says I’m Fine. I would have made a different film, a more assured film, a more settled film, a less over-the-top film, a better shot film, a better written film, a better acted film, especially my performance. I have moved on a lot. What Moth Smoke will be like will be a clear index how this person has moved in the last seven years.

Why Moth Smoke?

It’s a fantastic story. It’s got darkness, it’s got sweetness, it’s got tragedy, it’s got love, it’s got hate, it’s got lust, it’s got wretchedness, it’s got poetry, it’s got music and death.

You are upbeat about Aparna Sen’s The Japanese Wife...

The Japanese Wife is going to be one of her finest films, if not her finest film. Whether it’s the performances or the camerawork, it’s just brilliant. There’s no comparison with Mr & Mrs Iyer and 15 Park Avenue. The Japanese Wife is way up there.

You are doing a third Bengali film Antaheen. Have you found a language in which you can express yourself?

I wonder! I hope so. That would be really exciting as a human being. But I don’t know how long people in Bengal will suffer me. It’s not just discovery of a new language or a new culture. For me, it’s a discovery of my other half, my father’s half. It has been one of the most invigorating experiences of my life to discover Calcutta. I am slowly discovering it. It has been the most important experience of my life. Today, Calcutta and Manhattan for me are the two most interesting places on the planet.