Prosenjit shows Param his Moner Manush ektara and walking stick after the chat in his Ballygunge Phari office. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya)

Parambrata: Let me start with an experience that goes back to 2001 when I was in college and my crowd in JU comprised some of Calcutta’s elite Bengalis from south Calcutta. I had just done Half Chocolate when one of my classmates mockingly asked, ‘Will the Bengali film industry for the next 100 years only be about Posenjit?’ The same girl recently said, ‘I’ve been overawed by Autograph and Moner Manush.’ Tell us about this shift from being Posenjit to Prosenjit…

Prosenjit: Then I should tell you a story too. Yesterday I had gone to my first flat that I’d bought with my own hard-earned money at Mandeville Gardens. It stands right above Subratada’s (Mukherjee) puja. There was a bunch of children who crowded around me and started chanting. ‘Ei chokh tuley dekho na ke esechhe, ke esechhe’. It brought back memories of the time when I had bought that flat and many had thought it was with my father’s money. They would look down upon my profession and I was known as “a luchha lafanga”. Kintu baaper theke je ekta eent- niyi ni sheta jantoi na keu.

Parambrata: What was your biggest challenge back then?

Prosenjit: When I started out, my life’s biggest problem was Biswajit. Whether it was the way I walked, my voice or my gaze, people felt that I was a copy of my father. Just the other day I played one of Bapi’s films for Mishuk (son Trishanjit, 7) and even he remarked about our mannerisms. I never had a godfather or anyone to guide me. I started out on empty floors with just a few technicians, a director and some dogs loitering around. My first film was a hit but everyone said I was like Biswajit. My first concern was how to shed the Biswajit label. So I switched to being a chocolate hero. That’s when Amar Sangi happened. Then, I needed to break out of that image too.

Parambrata: From being a lover boy to a kickass action hero…

Prosenjit: Yes, I knew I wasn’t a big, muscular hero but I wanted to do angry roles and ended up introducing karate, kung-fu and Sten guns in Bengali films, starting with Pratibaad. In between I moved into comedy because I had had enough of the he-man image!

Parambrata: During this constant transition would you believe in all these characters you were playing?

Prosenjit: Ekdom! I have had to constantly revise my dance moves and fight sequence because I knew I had to hold on to a packed house. It was about my growth as an actor. But as you’re constantly trying to rediscover yourself, you have to be prepared to accept your age. I cannot start playing the role of a college-goer today just because it seems different and exciting.

Parambrata: So what exactly was the turning point?

Prosenjit: More than Unishe April, I would consider Utsab to be my turning point.... Even when shooting for Dosar I was shooting for Baba Keno Chakor in the mornings, a film jeta Bangla cinemar byango hoye gechhilo. After Dosar’s release we had gone to Writers’ to meet our ex-chief minister and the only word on every officer’s mouth was ‘Bumbada apni shudhu Dosar-er moto chhobi korben.’ With tears in my eyes I came out of the lift to find a group of drivers waiting to tell me ‘Dosar dekhlam dada, ki je kelalen!’ It was like coming face to face with two different sets of audiences on the same day in the same building.... Last two or three years especially have been an important phase of my life. My focus now is on that one good work people will remember you for.

Parambrata: You were an action hero throughout the ’90s, how did you become Rituparno Ghosh’s pick for his brand of films?

Prosenjit: I’ve heard that he had seen me at Indrapuri once and thought of casting me for his first film Hirer Angti but was apparently told I was too big a star and wouldn’t work with him. During Unishe April, I had just got married to Chumki (Debasree Roy) when Ritu called me and requested if I could do this small part. He was taken aback by my performance and what followed was another series of new beginnings.

Parambrata: For us it’s the best time to be a part of this resurgent film industry but why didn’t you move to Bombay back then?

Prosenjit: To build the actor in me was far more important than going to Bombay to play in the big league. I’m friends with David (Dhawan), Mani Sir (Ratnam) loves me but I’ve never felt the urge to tell them that I want to go and work there...

Parambrata: You’re also one of the few today shouldering the responsibility for the entire industry. How and when did you develop this sense of duty?

Prosenjit: I have seen the ups and downs of the industry, which probably helps me guide those who come to me for advice. Going to the government seeking help for the betterment of the industry is something I’ve done many times before. It never yielded anything back then but today Bengali cinema is gaining back its strength and pulling an audience into the multiplex.

Parambrata: I remember you sorting out a date clash with Rudranil (Ghosh) while I was directing a telefilm. I didn’t even know you back then. As a cine artiste, these are things that I’ve learnt from you. When there are logistical problems it’s best to run to Bumbada...

Prosenjit: To me cinema is about totality. Not just about being an actor or a star. At the end of the day we’re trying to sell a dream.When we tried to introduce Cinemascope with Sasurbari Zindabad in 2000, everyone felt Haranath (Chakraborty), Venkatesh (Films) and I had gone mad. But that actually changed the entire business dynamics of Bengali cinema. The industry needs the drive and motivation of actors, directors and producers. The audience is changing and so is the technology. You have to keep track and stay updated.

Parambrata: Anything that you feel you might be missing out on in all this multi-tasking?

Prosenjit: People think I don’t have time, but I do. I don’t have any other work commitments apart from my production, acting or portfolio. There have been times like the making of Swapner Din when Arpita was pregnant or shooting for Moner Manush when I went into exile but my family has always understood and supported me.

Parambrata: What should life at 49 be like?

Prosenjit: Ideally, waking up at 11am, hitting the gym, a relaxed afternoon at office and an evening out at the club but sheta hoyna especially in the social system to which we belong. I’m a person who is desperate to get back to work even when out for a three-day holiday. I need the tension and stress. I enjoy being as busy as I used to be a few years ago, working three shifts a day. Just that I’ve made it a point now to devote 8am to 11am every day to my body, something I had neglected when I was younger.

Parambrata: Any other do and don’t…

Prosenjit: I was addicted to tea and cigarette. I’d smoke around four packs everyday but I quit last year after Autograph, aar cha- onek komiye diyechhi. I don’t drink except for some wine but that’s more like social drinking. Also, I want to work with people jara amake niye seriously bhabey or want to present me in a novel way. I’ve often been exploited by those who wanted to use me to market themselves. That I don’t want.

Parambrata: What do you aspire for at this stage of your career?

Prosenjit: I hope that in the next five or seven years I can build a brand for myself as an actor recognised at international film festivals the way people know me and respect me for my work regionally. I’m proud that I do Bengali films and the world needs to know that India is not just about Bollywood.

Parambrata: What about the filmmaker Prosenjit?

Prosenjit: I haven’t been able to make a film the way I wanted to. I never got the time. I made Purushottam in 1992…

Parambrata: Which was a state-of-the-art action film then!

Prosenjit: I also made Ami Shei Meye which didn’t turn out well but I was actually quite proud of Purushottam. Aparna Sen too had asked me why I had stopped making films after that. Maybe it’s the final challenge that I want to present myself one day: whether I’m a better actor or director. Every year I start thinking about it but emon lobhoniyo kichhu kaaj eshe jaay!

Parambrata: We’ve heard you played the drum and sang. Tell us about the musician Prosenjit…

Prosenjit: I can play the tabla too! (Laughs.) Even now when there’s a closed-door programme with a gaaner ashor on the carpet with family and friends, tablata kintu aami bajai!

Parambrata: Any word of advice to our generation?

Prosenjit: No, I don’t want to give gyan because I have a lot to learn from them. They are pretty knowledgeable, sensible and focused. But one thing I wish for the industry is that they keep an eye on the dark side and try to get out of that while enjoying the brighter side.

Parambrata: Finally, will you act in my film?

Prosenjit: Only if you stop thinking of Rudranil and start writing a script for me!

Parambrata: I’m working on one…

Prosenjit: I’d love to do it!

A t2 rapid fire with the birthday boy

Your birthday plan?

For the last 15 years there has been a big group that arrives from Midnapore, Behrampore and Ranaghat on my birthday carrying my photos and they bring me fish, rice and vegetables from their farms. So from 8 to 10am it’s two hours of uninterrupted time just for them. We chat and there’s luchi and alur dom cooked for them. Some faces haven’t changed over the years. Earlier their parents used to come and now their children do. They call me shonar chhele. That apart, my day this year will be spent with the 22shey Srabon team, since the film is releasing.

Do you like being called Prosenjit or Bumba?

Bumba. I love people calling me Bumba or Bumbada. When someone says Prosenjit I realise that person is not known to me.

Do you remember shooting for your first film?

It was Chhotto Jiggasha but ota kemon swapner moto hoye gechhe. For me it was more like ‘shooting-shooting khela’. What I do remember is acting for Tarun Majumdar’s Rahagir as my father’s chhotobela. I was seven. I lip synced to a song by Lata Mangeshkar and two days before the shoot my tooth fell off! Tarunda got me a false tooth but my ayah lost it!

The first film you ever watched?

Bishwa paka chhilam, but I remember Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as my favourite.

Your first crush?

A very good-looking English teacher in school and then Lady Diana. I used to dream of drinking tea or coffee with her (laughs).

If not an actor?

Maybe an engineer. My Dadamoshai had a technical training institute so there was a good chance of me studying there.

Your most prized moment as an actor?

In Bangladesh after the release of Moner Manush when someone said to me that for them I had won a bigger honour than the Oscars, having essayed the role of their favourite Lalon Fakir despite being a Hindu.

Your biggest regret?

People think it’s refusing Maine Pyaar Kiya but no. Uttam Kumar had thought of directing a film, a romantic crime thriller with Soma Chatterjee and me. I was a struggling actor then and we also did photo shoots but before he could start it, he passed away. It was a big loss for me in many ways because he was always a big support for my mother and me.

Your guide in the industry?

Someone who I always have fallen back on is Soumitra Chatterjee. Also Uttam jethu.

Something people don’t know about you?

I used to be very, very short-tempered. In a fit of rage I’ve thrown away my gold bracelet from a nine-storey building and run my car into lamp posts. Now I’m just the opposite.

Your fitness mantra?

Eat little, gym and yoga.

Your worst critic?

Used to be my mother and now Arpita. Bhalo bolei na!

A director you’re waiting to work with?

Anjanda (Dutt) and Reenadi (Aparna Sen).

Your favourite dialogue?

A line that’s very close to my heart is from Autograph… Aami amar baka haanshita bikri korechhi, amar gaayer chamratake bikri korechhi, amar ghar bhenge takanotake bikri korechhi kintu amar shilposhotta bibektake bikri korini!

Mohua Das