She is nervous and underconfident. He is suave and confident. Parno Mittra and Parambrata Chattopadhyay tell t2 about their fears, working together in Apur Panchali and why Param will definitely cast Parno in one of his directorial ventures.

How much of Apur Panchali is connected to Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali and his Apu?

Parno: I don’t think our bit in the film has anything to do with Pather Panchali, apart from Param playing Subir Banerjee, who played Apu in Pather Panchali.

Param: We need to clarify one thing. The character I play in Apur Panchali is not Apu. It’s Subir Banerjee, who had played Apu in Ray’s Pather Panchali. Incidentally, the way Subir Banerjee’s life evolved is in certain ways similar to the way Apu’s life traverses. Despite playing such an iconic role, Subir Banerjee was never a part of another film again. He had a very regular life as a government clerk. His life had its share of happiness and peace, but that was short-lived. So his was a solitary man’s life.

I think that’s what we tried to capture in Apur Panchali (produced by Shree Venkatesh Films). We’ve taken episodes from his life and the film tries to draw parallels between episodes of Subir’s life and episodes in Apu’s life spanning the trilogy (Pather Panchali, Apur Sansar and Aparajito).

Did you meet Subir Banerjee before shooting for the film?

Param: I wanted to but Kaushikda (Ganguly, director) did not want it because he felt the romanticism surrounding the person who had played Apu as a child would be completely gone. He is so ordinary that the myth would be broken for me.

Parno and Parambrata in Apur Panchali, directed by Kaushik Ganguly and due for release on April 25

Parno, you play Ashima, Subir Banerjee’s wife...

Parno: Ashima’s story is also very similar to that of Aparna’s (Apu’s wife, played by Sharmila Tagore in Apur Sansar). Ashima’s world revolves around her husband and she is madly in love with him, which you don’t get to see these days.

Param: I think it kind of captures that old world charm about arranged marriage.

Parno: Their chemistry is very cute.

Param: And there’s a certain degree of naivete and ignorance about this girl which Subir finds really adorable.

The two of you had played a bickering couple in Ekla Akash (2012), your first film together...

Parno: It’s absolutely the opposite here (laughs).

Param, you’ve worked with Kaushik Ganguly many times in the past. How has he evolved as a director?

Param: I started out by assisting him on a couple of telefilms, then I worked with him in three telefilms. At that time he had already made Warish and Sunyo E-Buke. Then he made Brakefail, where he wanted to break away from his serious filmmaker mould and do a fun film. I still feel that Brakefail, if released properly, could have done better. Kaushikda played a part in Hawa Bodol (directed by Parambrata). And then Apur Panchali came to me... and the day we did the look test, his Shabdo won a National Award.

Since I’ve known him for such a long time I think I am allowed to say this — I see a much more sure Kaushikda now. He really knows what he is doing. Earlier, Kaushikda wasn’t sure of what kind of cinema he wanted to make. Post-Laptop, it shows that he is bloody sure of what he wants to do, specially with films like Rang Milanti and Shabdo. And now Apur Panchali, which is a big hit in the festival circuit. It has won the Golden Peacock in IFFI Goa too.

Parno, has it been easy slipping into Ashima’s shoes?

Parno: Look, I’ve never played a girl like Ashima. I have never met anybody who is even close to what Ashima is, in my life. My reference point for someone like her was only through a few films, like Apur Sansar and Samapti. I am a very different person.... And it’s just not acting, it’s a lot of things. You have to look the part; the simplicity, the innocence has to show on your face and in your eyes. You can’t lie in front of the camera. So I was stressed about all these things and also about the dialogue delivery. My Bangla is like a city girl’s. I was worried how I would deliver and I was very conscious about myself... I was freaking out! But I loved the character so much that I used to dream about it. I would take mental notes on how I would like to approach the character. Once Kaushikda read out the script, it all became easy, clear and simple.

Are you generally nervous while shooting?

Param: I think she has a degree of neurotic energy when she is acting.

Parno: I am a very underconfident person (smiles). In real life too, I try to overcome that by being whatever... I am shy and introverted. I was very nervous while shooting Apur Panchali.

Param: She has always played this super urban, bubbly, chic girl. Here is where Kaushikda’s mastery lies... in finding an Ashima in Parno. She had to calm herself down to play Ashima.

Parno: Param has been a great help.

Param: She’s got some lovely scenes, but in terms of numbers they are not very many. All of us tried to give Ashima a pedestal.

Param, you are never nervous on the sets, are you?

Param: No, I am never nervous. I might be concerned about whether I would be able to pull this off. Like I felt very concerned with Hercules (directed by Sudeshna Roy-Abhijit Guha) and Apur Panchali. But I am not nervous. And I think, Parno’s fear of me is gone now!

You really fear Param?

Parno: I have this major problem, you know. I’m perhaps going to sound like a psycho... but I can be very confident if I don’t know the people around me. When I am with people I know, I get very nervous... be it Param, Mainak (Bhaumik), Swastika (Mukherjee) or Raima (Sen). Before doing a scene, I’m always nervous, no matter how many films I have done. And probably 10 years later, you will ask me the same question and my answer would still be the same!

Param, have you ever thought of casting Parno in any of your films?

Param: Definitely, I would love to. I thought she was quite good in Ekla Akash too.

Parno: So why didn’t you cast me in this one (Lorai)?

Param: But I will, definitely!