Adil Hussain lives in Delhi, but the actor would love to move to Calcutta. “It is my most fave city in the country, because of strange reasons. The people want to know everything about everything. It’s great to see the intimacy and warmth. I am not looking at it in a negative way at all. I love it. Gossip should be looked at in a healthy way. Gossip helps you to reflect upon yourself,” says Adil. Arpita, who lived in Delhi near Mayur Vihar for five years, has moved back to Calcutta. “I wish you had met me when you were there, and I could have cooked for you!” smiles Adil. Actors Adil and Arpita, who star in the Bengali film Abyakto, got together for a t2 chat over coffee at The HHI ...

Adil, when it comes to Bengali films, you are on a signing spree…

Adil: Ahare Mon and Maati are releasing. And I’m doing a short film, which is very cinematic, by Abhiroop Basu.

Arpita, you have a Delhi connect. You lived there for five years…

Arpita: It’s the worst place on earth. And I still stand by it. 

Adil: I can’t bitch about Delhi since I live there. 

Arpita: I don’t have any reason to say anything good about Delhi. I really tried to like the place. 

Adil: But you are not giving me specific reasons… 

Arpita: It starts with the weather and then goes on to the people, food. But I can’t cut my umbilical cord with Delhi. My company is still there (Arpita had set up Mydea 100, a company based out of Noida that creates audio-visual content). However, I must admit that whatever I have achieved through my company wouldn’t have been possible in Calcutta. I missed out on the cultural side of Delhi. 

Maybe that can happen now. You can look at Delhi in a new way…

Adil: Absolutely. There are good things about Delhi. The roads are wider. 

Arpita: But you would never feel that because the traffic is so bad. 

Adil: I don’t go out of my home before 11 in the morning, and every appointment I have is a three-minute car drive from my home. 

Arpita: Also, I realised there was no respect for actors in Delhi. Either you have to be filthy rich or be connected to some person. 

Adil: There is a lovely sense of belonging  in Calcutta, which is great about any place. And the food. 

Arpita, which is your fave Adil film?

Arpita: My son (Trishanjit) is so excited. He couldn’t believe that I am working with Adil. I was like, ‘Excuse me, it’s not only your father (Prosenjit)…’ And then he is like, ‘Wow, you are so lucky.’ So I wanted to let you know that a 13-year-old is your fan. And I’m in love with Adil for many reasons. And whatever I got to know about this person during the shoot is fascinating… the way he thinks, perceives things, his philosophy... I can relate to that. He acts, and the reason is not for glamour or money. Same for me.  

Adil, how would you respond to that? 

Adil: Onir had mentioned Arpita’s name. Unfortunately, I had not seen her work then. Then  he showed me her photograph, and I was like why haven’t I seen her before? It was stunning. He had asked me to play a role in Shab. It didn’t happen finally. Later I saw the film and I wondered why she wasn’t on the national scene. I am not saying Bollywood. She just blasts the scenes.  She should go international. For this film, I liked the story, and once I got to know she is doing it, I agreed. 

Arpita: For the national scene, you have to have a strategy, a plan… what you want to do and the road forward. Also, to get projects in Bombay, you have to be there. Otherwise you are not on the radar. 

Adil: I don’t think you should go to Bombay. I don’t live in Bombay, but I am flooded with different kinds of work every week.  I can’t fathom why and how it is happening. Networking has its own space… but then things happen at the right time at the right place. I believe what one can do, like a gospel of truth, is… if you want to work in quality films, then you must work on your craft. And she already has the craft. In 2011, I met my acting teacher in Pondicherry, and he told me to go deep into the craft. He told me to stop being good and brilliant and try to be truer. Being true means going deeper into the craft. And only few actors in the world have this quality. How deep can one go? One never gets bored since there is no bottom. And I’ve seen established actors being bored with acting. If I love acting, I should be happy. You have to love what you are doing.

So, Arpita has actually started the process. You can only practise the craft of acting on stage. Theatre is the place where you can go deeper every day. That is one of the most important ways to attract attention to yourself. You (Arpita) are at the right place in the right direction. 

Arpita: I always believed that. It’s fascinating to be on stage. I’m working on a production where music will play a vital role.  

Tell us about Abyakto...

Arpita: I play a housewife in a north Calcutta household and her life revolves around her child. The boy is the only reason for her existence. The film covers a span of 20 years. The way the story unfolds is really interesting. 

Adil: I play Rudra, who is a friend of the family. There is a deep conflict which happens because of my presence. It is unspoken, unexpressed, unsaid. It is beautifully written. 

Arpita: Arjunn (Dutta; director) is a really sweet chap. He is very enthusiastic. He knows his job and knows exactly what he wants. 

Adil occasionally does commercial films. Arpita, would you like to do Bengali commercial films now?

Adil: I have to pay my bills, she doesn’t I guess!

Arpita: Unfortunately, the Bengali commercial film scenario is not that good. That’s reality. I have crossed that age where you are dancing on the streets, or around trees. I can’t relate to that. In Bollywood, stars like 
Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn are doing a new kind of commercial cinema. And they are supporting that segment. I am hopeful that’ll happen here. People are rejecting the commercial films here because we don’t see a reflection of the changing society in these films. We need a modernised and relevant version of commercial films, which is lacking in this industry. 

Do you find films revolving around women happening here?

Arpita: It has started. The time has come and the audience are ready to see women-centric films. Only you have to make the films work at the box office. 

Adil: So the distributors and exhibitors should come together and support. 

Would you like to produce films?

Arpita: No. For production, I have chosen digital. I will produce web series and short films on the digital platform.  

Arindam Chatterjee
Picture: Pabitra Das