Hope we are looking normal?” Prosenjit asks Rituparna Sengupta. “You mean all this while we were abnormal?” Rituparna shoots back. 

You can expect exchanges like this when Prosenjit and Rituparna get together. One of the most successful lead pairs of Tollywood who have had 45 hits before they stopped working for a decade only to begin their second innings with Praktan (2016), they are now awaiting the release of Drishtikone, directed by Kaushik Ganguly, on April 27. For a special t2 shoot at The Lalit Great Eastern, the duo travel back and forth in time. 

This ease, this chemistry... how are you thinking of carrying this forward? 

Rituparna: Our choice of subject...

Prosenjit: You see, the challenge is very different. Till Jamaibabu Zindabad (2001), we were hero-heroine. But in the last 10 years, we both have developed as actors. The language of cinema has changed. The way we made a Sasurbari Zindabad (2000) or a Jamaibabu Zindabad, we couldn’t do it that way anymore. After Praktan (their comeback film after Phool Aar Pathar in 2002), people were really happy to see us together on screen again. Now to keep it going, we have to be very careful with the films we choose to do, so that even another 10 years later there is enthusiasm around us. 

Rituparna: We are very particular when we work together. We strive very hard to get our chemistry right. We have to be perfect. After Praktan, we waited to do something out of the box. Drishtikone is an intense film. It’s a difficult film and that’s why we accepted the offer. There has to be curiosity among people when we star together in a film. People expect a lot from us. What more can these actors give? That is the challenge. 

Prosenjit: We talk to each other about whether we should or shouldn’t do a film. 

How do you keep this enthusiasm alive among people?

Rituparna: That’s because we are very passionate towards our profession.

Prosenjit: True. 

Rituparna: The key words are perseverance and sacrifice... our love for the craft is undying. We have done wrong films, right films. But the passion, the hunger is always there.

What’s nice is that you are so comfortable with each other even now...

Prosenjit: And this despite the fact that we haven’t spoken to each other for years. Even now, on the sets, we don’t talk much. But during a shot, we transform magically.

Yes, neither of you talk much but both of you pull each other’s leg a lot...

Prosenjit: Yes, that I always do! (Laughs) This leg-pulling is a constant for the last 20 years. (Rituparna laughs out loud) She says I’m gombhir.... There’s no fun if I don’t pull Ritu’s leg. If you see our film Pratihinsa (2002)... we were not on talking terms then and we had a very passionate love song. And I can vouch that no one could tell! That is the kind of chemistry Ritu and I have. 

So, when the camera is on nothing comes in between… 

Prosenjit: Nothing. And she knows me best. Nobody knows actor Prosenjit better than Ritu. I think I also know her as an actress quite a bit. 
Rituparna: During a shot, we keep correcting each other. Nobody will notice those moments between us. 

Do you discuss any strategy to repeat the success of your hit films?

Rituparna: See, the pattern of success has changed. Now the fate of a film is one or two weeks. Verdict is out in two days. Ours was a different time — 50 days, 100 days, billboards wrapped in marigold…

Prosenjit: Back then, the whole of Bengal would watch Bangla films. There was no urban-rural divide. Those days we would shoot for Baba Keno Chakor till 4pm and then from 5pm we would shoot for Utsab! 

Rituparna: I would do Paramitar Ekdin and Sasurbari Zindabad on the same day. 

Prosenjit: And we were capable of handling these variations. 

How do you pick and choose?

Prosenjit: Credit goes to Shibu (Shiboprosad Mukhopadhyay) for breaking the ice between us! 

Rituparna: I always wanted our comeback film to happen with Shibu-Nanditadi (Roy). Because they know the pulse of the audience and they are simple storytellers. 

And we are sure you must have had many Poila Baisakh hits?

Rituparna: Onek! 

Prosenjit: A Ritu-Prosenjit film had to release on Poila Baisakh. 

Rituparna: We should have these special days for release. 

Prosenjit: It’s a good sign that people wait for a new film on special occasions. 

What is the secret of Prosenjit-Rituparna’s success as a screen couple? Tell t2@abp.in

HE ON HER, SHE ON HIM  

Bumbada, what is your fave Rituparna film?

Prosenjit: Honestly, there are many films. But people say…

Rituparna: What do you mean by people?! You are being asked the question. 

Prosenjit: No, I meant people say Paromitar Ekdin, but my favourite is Dahan.

What’s Rituparna’s fave hobby?

Prosenjit: Dance is her passion. She would rehearse regularly. 

Rituparna: He was very encouraging when I floated my production house Bhabna Aaj O Kal. 

Prosenjit: Her other hobby is to keep people waiting. Rituparna was and still is passionate about this! She loves it. She makes everyone wait for her. Dev keeps asking me how I worked with Rituparna for so long. (Laughs) 

Rituparna: What’s the rahashyo? (Laughs)

Yes, Bumbada why? 

Prosenjit: That’s Ritu’s gun (quality). Once she’s on set, she will manage everyone perfectly. She has different strategies for the hero, for a senior actor, for the director... she deals with everyone in a way that makes them happy. If she came late for a Swapan Saha film, she would manage it in a certain way, for Hara (Haranath Chakraborty) she had a different strategy. For Prabhatda (Roy), she would call his wife and say, ‘Boudi I am coming over for dinner!’ 
And she was very good at her work. The shot would be okayed at one go.  

But Ritu goes to a different zone from time to time, you have to bring her back to the present and that tactic I know! Maybe she’s given a shot and I know there are 100 things racing through her mind. I go and tell the director to do three takes; after the third take, Ritu comes back to the present. Egulo amar kachhe joler moto porishkar. 

Opposites attract...

Prosenjit: You ask Kaushik Ganguly or Shibu. They will give you the exact scene. For Drishtikone, KG was in so much chaap! If I had a 9am call time, I would reach the set at 8.45am. Ritu would reach at 11! So the Drishtikone team came up with a plan. If the call time was 10am, the team would call her and say Ritudi you come at 11, just to take her into confidence because the actual call time would be 2pm! That’s how we completed Drishtikone!

Rituparna: Shibu says that I keep a spy on set who informs me what’s happening and I reach just before my shot!

What’s Rituparna’s fave fun munch?

Prosenjit: Aachar (pickle).

Rituparna: Bang on!

Prosenjit: On the pavements outside NT1, amrar aachar would be sold and she loved it. Tetul-er achar....

Favourite Rituparna-Prosenjit film?

Prosenjit: Utsab, Daye Dayittyo.

Rituparna: Sudhu Ekbar Bolo.

Rituparna, what’s your fave Prosenjit film?

Rituparna: Dosar.

Prosenjit’s fave hobby? 

Rituparna: He is a thinker. On the sets, too, he will sit alone and think. He is full of ideas! 

Prosenjit: I also watch a lot of films. 

What’s his fave food?

Rituparna: Does he eat? Earlier I would see him having curd and cucumber. I think he loves to eat but stays away from food. He loves simple Bengali food. In fact he loves alu bhaja.

Prosenjit: I don’t eat it though…

Rituparna: But would love to....

Prosenjit: I love uchchhe bhaja too. That’s my fun munch. I have it like people have potato chips!