You know, I couldn’t dub for Love Express on the first day. I just couldn’t stop laughing!” says Dev, getting ready for a t2 chat at The Lalit Great Eastern. Thinking about some of the fun moments of the road movie (directed by Rajib and produced by Shree Venkatesh Films and Surinder Films) makes him crack up once more. “Comedy is such a difficult emotion to portray. It’s all about timing and a lot depends on the understanding you share with your co-actors,” he adds.
Over to Dev...
Before the shoot of Love Express, did you watch any comedy films for reference?
After doing Buno Haansh, Chander Pahar, Dhumketu… and even if I do a remake, I don’t see the original film. I don’t want to be influenced by someone else’s work. Then you won’t grow as an actor. People would not like to see someone else in me.
One of the key plot points in Love Express is that your character Laal fails to board a train to Siliguri. How do you feel about missing flights and trains?
I hate missing flights and I hate reaching late. I want to sleep and relax on flights. For this film, we shot on a real train, in real locations. That’s the USP of the film. The shoot was tough because we would get the train for two-three hours maximum and within that we would have to do our rehearsals and take the shots… that too with a huge crowd that would gather to watch us every time.
How would you shoot on the roads?
Love Express unfolds over one night. So we would shoot on national highways from 5pm to 5am. We shot straight for 40 nights. And it was quite risky shooting at night. Trucks are the dons of the highway at night. They have their own rules. So the team had to shoot in such a way so as not to get in the way of the trucks. If we would go to a para to shoot, crowds would form out of nowhere. Men in bikes would follow us and would inadvertently get in the camera frame. Now, who will believe that my character is being chased by bikers on the national highway at night (laughs)? They would say, ‘Please Dada, we just want to shake hands with you.’ We would stop the shoot and start again. They would stick around till about 4 in the morning!
What are some of the things that make road journeys fun?
I love travelling. And for any journey, it would be great to have someone to talk to. So things become easier with a friend by your side. Of course, I often read scripts while travelling. So I would suggest — just load up your MP3 player with some great songs and you are set. Keep biscuits and water bottles. And make sure you have a tank full of petrol!
Around 12 years ago, you would take the Geetanjali Express to come to Calcutta looking for work in Tollywood and stay at the Sealdah Lodge. Any train memories from that time?
My co-passengers would strike up conversations with me, they would ask me where I was going.... ‘Are you going to Calcutta in search of a job?’ I remember this incident... this was before my career took off in Tollywood... when I was promised a film in Calcutta and I remember boarding the train from Bombay. The shoot was supposed to start in two days. The night before, I called up the producer-director but couldn’t get through. Anyway, I boarded the train the next day. In the afternoon, he called and said: ‘Deepak, I have taken someone else. We might work again later. You don’t have to come to Calcutta.’ I called up my parents, got off at Nagpur, changed trains and went back home.
You shot some of the songs for Love Express in Turkey. This was the second time you were shooting in Turkey, right?
Yeah. The first one was for Birsa Dasgupta’s Shudhu Tomari Jonno. Turkey is a beautiful place. There’s amazing architecture all around. It’s a great shopping destination, too, but I didn’t get the time to shop. One day I would like to go there on a holiday.
You also made your debut as a choreographer in this film...
Yeah... and that happened because initially we didn’t have a choreographer in Turkey. The person didn’t get his visa at the right time and we got to know about this just as we were about to board the flight to Turkey around 3am. The team was in two minds about going but finally we decided to go ahead. And I said I’d choreograph! I went there and choreographed the moves for the first day’s shoot of the song Mon bolechhe amar. Next day, we got a choreographer.
How did you do it?
The first thing that one has to gain is the trust of the whole unit. And that happened instantly. Nusrat (Jahan) knows that if I do something, she’ll trust me blindly. And I understand songs, beats and rhythm. I just followed the rhythm and grooved to it.
That you were improvising and taking on more responsibilities... did all this stem from your stint as a producer for Dhumketu?
Yes, I learnt so much... mostly how to deal with crisis situations.
What’s the one thing we don’t know about your co-star Nusrat?
She is completely hassle-free, very bindaas. She just doesn’t get angry even if we pull her leg!
Nusrat’s friends say that she cooks really well...
I have not tasted her food yet. I see pictures on Twitter. She says that whenever she throws a party, I’m not in town! How is that possible?!
Have you seen the trailer of Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Pink?
I loved the trailer. I am very happy for him. I thanked Shoojitda (Sircar, producer) for giving my brother a chance to make his first Hindi film in Bombay. Tonyda and Indranidi are like my guardians, who are always there for me.
Not many Bengali films have worked in 2016. Is there a cause for concern?
I don’t think so. A hit film will open windows for other films. Let’s not get scared… our main goal should be to work in a constructive manner and see to it that the audience comes back to the theatres. Shudhu Tomari Jonno worked last year and was one of the biggest hits, along with Rajkahini, Byomkesh Bakshi and Katmundu. And I’m doing different kinds of films, from Love Express to Puja release Zulfiqar.
How was your Amazon experience for the film Amazon Obhijaan?
Brilliant! I feel everyone should go there once. We often worry over material things or get worked up about competing with each other, but if you stay there for a week you’ll feel that nothing else matters over there. That place is completely disconnected from the world… there are no phones, no network. It’s as if they live in a different world. Our phones, however high-end they were, became devices to only listen to songs, The place where we were shooting was almost four hours away from civilisation. One can only travel by boats. There are no cars there. It’s a water world out there!
Arindam Chatterjee
If you went on a road trip with Dev,
where would you take him and why? Tell t2@abp.in
