They met during the shoot of the 2012 film Bedroom, and soon became good friends. Now, Parno Mittra is back in a Mainak Bhaumik film — Happy Pill — after a gap of five years. “He is not that same easy-going guy anymore. He used to be a friend earlier on set,” laughs Parno. “Her confidence has gone up as an actor,” says Mainak. Cue for t2 to get them to fire questions at each other for a t2 chat... 

Parno: Listen, I have done homework for this chat... how to ask questions like a journalist. Let’s see if you (to Mainak) have come prepared! 

Mainak: You love it when people praise you for a film. Has there been a time when you have been praised for a performance you weren’t happy about?

Parno: What?! Is this a puzzle or what!

Mainak: It’s a simple question! Which film?

Parno: My first one, Ranjana Ami Aar Ashbona. I have obviously grown as an actor since then. There was one scene where I was shouting at Anjanda (Dutt)… for me logic is extremely important. Why am I screaming at someone? The way I had read the script, I had seen it in a certain way in my head. Obviously, Anjanda’s vision was different. I didn’t agree with the screaming at him bit… but people loved it! I felt these two characters don’t come that close that she gets to shout at him. Maybe a little bit of building of relationship between the characters was required in the film… then it would have been justified. Also, I am very critical of my performances. I was not so great in the film, but people loved it. My performance could have been better. 

t2: What happens when you put in everything into a film but later you see that the film is badly made, and doesn’t do well at the box office?

Parno: I run away from Calcutta (laughs out loud)! When reviews are great but people don’t turn up, I feel bad. And when I am given a script, I can usually say what is the fate of the film. That’s why I say no to so many films. I have done a lot of projects I am not proud of and now I have become way more choosy. Last year I rejected 17 scripts. One has to be very careful about what one is doing. 

Parno: Mainak, in the last couple of years, you have changed as a writer and filmmaker. You have reinvented yourself.  Why have you stopped making films like Maach Mishti & More, Ami Aar Amar Girlfriends, Family Album and Take One? Are you trying to play safe?

Mainak: Initially, I was doing personal, character-driven films. And now I am more interested in the construction of narrative, which I think appeals to a bigger audience. Whereas with a character-driven film, if you do not necessarily identify with the character, you may not identify with the film.

Parno: But I wrote a nice story, and you rejected it!

Mainak: But what was the growth?!

Parno: You didn’t let me get past 15 scenes!

Mainak: A person is supposed to grow from A to B, which is what makes a film. You knew the character was going somewhere, but you didn’t know how!

Parno: You didn’t let me finish!  

t2: Are you now making films keeping the box office in mind?

Mainak: Honestly, I got partly bored of the films I was making initially... the ensemble, character-driven films completely running on deconstruction of characters. With Bibaho Diaries, I just stepped out and told a story, and I enjoyed the process of letting it twist and turn and take you somewhere. In that process I wrote Happy Pill where there are elements of a thriller, suspense, adventure… this is like a second phase for me. I have done my personal films... now I want to make movies! 

Parno: So now we won’t get those amazing feminist characters?

Mainak: Why not?! In Happy Pill, the women characters are pretty strong. But I would rather put them on a story journey than just on theirs.  In Ghare & Bairey it was equal. Nowadays, I make films where every character is a fulcrum to the story. They run to the main story. In Happy Pill, all the characters are there to create the story.

t2: You wouldn’t like to make Ami Aar Amar Girlfriends now?

Mainak: I wouldn’t want to. I am happy that the audience here accepted Girlfriends in 2013. But the reverse is that I don’t think Bengal today would accept a chick flick. 

t2: Take One?

Mainak: Morbid. I am not in that zone as a human being. I am more interested in plotting.

Parno: It is one of his best. Of course I don’t want him to make those kind of films any more. He is capable of doing bigger, better films, which will entertain people.

Mainak: Anything that I won’t watch nowadays, I won’t make. I don’t want to stress people. I would not like to watch Kieslowski’s Blue at night now. Or a Jim Jarmusch. I like to watch anything that is positive and entertaining.

Parno: He was watching Teen Wolf.

Mainak: It is an interesting phase for Bengali cinema. We are seeing audiences coming to the halls to watch Bengali films. This culture has to grow and get bigger, for us to experiment again. But before that we have to bring them in…

Parno: … and gain their trust.

Mainak: It has started.

Parno: He actually made a song-and- dance sequence in Ghare & Bairey. Why didn’t I get to do this?! I had to walk through the lanes of south Calcutta for his movies! 

t2: Why couldn’t Parno do the song-and-dance thing in your movies?!

Mainak: Because she already did a bit of running around in a gown in Pratim D. Gupta’s film (Ahare Mon)!

Parno: Pratim makes me look pretty and does filmi things. Pratim will make me rich girl and he will make me poor girl. Why?!

Mainak: The whole Parno brand, from Ranjana... to Bedroom, was that she was the new face of urban Bangla cinema, who speaks English and Bengali. That was her image even when she was working with me. For me, now it’s fun to cast her against type. It’s more interesting for me to see her playing this middle-class girl who is underconfident in Happy Pill. I’m sure they also like changing their acts.

Parno: I enjoy that. I don’t like playing characters close to me.

Parno: What is your process as a writer?

Mainak: Now it’s like an Excel sheet where I have to see the narrative, the characters and see how well I am turning the plot. 

Parno: And what kind of films can we expect from you in the future?

Mainak: Anything and everything, from a thriller to a fantasy to an adventure film. Anything that I have not done before. 

t2: Your films are primarily set in the city. Can they go outside?

Mainak: One of the first films I had written which did not happen was about a Chhau dancer. I have done documentaries on Chhau and patachitra. So I had actually started from the outside.

Parno: He went to Bolpur recently and he almost cried (laughs out loud).

Mainak: I wrote a horror film set in Bolpur but I knew that I wasn’t going to direct it (laughs). I am a city person.

Parno: Don’t lie. Say there are no loos over there!

Mainak: I am not a nature person! They don’t have good food. It’s terrible. We tried planning a road film in the US but it fell apart. I know I’ll get it done but I don’t know when. Also, I don’t want to do an immigrant film. It has been done to death. I don’t feel there is any purpose in just exploring immigrants just for the sake of it unless there is a good story in there.

Parno: So think, you are a writer!

Mainak: What do you do to sustain? Is it just performance or how you conduct your life?

Parno: It is definitely performance. You have to keep reinventing yourself. 

Mainak: How do you take competition? The fact that every year there is some new girl… do you get upset, jealous or do you take it sportingly?

Parno: At one point of time, I would get upset (laughs). But it becomes fun. You up your game, push yourself as a performer and make sure that you are still around when all these new talents are coming in. Which is great! The idea is to be confident about who you are and what you bring to the table. Focusing on my work — that is my process. Also, observing. What you perform comes from what is around you. 

Mainak: Of the male actors, whose growth has been more interesting?

Parno: Can I name Irrfan Khan?! He is an international star! I don’t want to answer this. In general, it is Jisshu (Sengupta) and Abir (Chatterjee).  

t2: Is there one area Parno can improve on?

Mainak: If she isn’t comfortable doing a scene that isn’t working, she has a tendency to go into a safe mode. My fave actor in Calcutta is still Anjanda… he will push it to the point where it can get embarrassing … but he always pushes his characters. All actors should learn from the man. Every time he comes on screen, he knows how to push it further.

Parno: I have an issue when it comes to logic, and if it’s not there, then I switch off. I run on instinct. Mainak also plays it safe! Mainak, don’t be comfortable in your zone. Do bigger stuff, I know you are capable of it. Go bigger, push yourself as a filmmaker.

Mainak: I would love to. 

t2: How has Mainak changed over the years?

Parno: He is not that same easy-going guy any more. He used to be a friend earlier on set. It’s not like that any more. Now, he treats us like… one day I had to tell him, I can’t shoot any more.

Mainak: Earlier, you could relax and do things. Now, you have to finish it fast. I am not here to have fun. Writing the film is the fun part.

Parno: He is more serious about his work now. He is very confident about his scripts which is why he doesn’t let us improvise at all.

Mainak: Nothing is arbitrary. It has to follow the plot.

Parno: He is very clear.

Mainak: Parno’s confidence has gone up as an actor, and she is less bothered about little things.

What do you want to ask Parno and Mainak? Tell t2@abp.in