Payel respects Gargi as her senior. Gargi has a lot of affection for Payel. Over Galawati Kebab and paratha at Oudh 1590, the two chatted with t2 about Lorai the film and the lorai of life. 

What are two women doing in Lorai, a film about football?

Payel: Cheering the boys!
Gargi: (Laughs) Ekdom! In the heat and dust of Purulia when Payel and I would enter the field, everyone’s faces would light up! 

Were there any unhappy incidents between the two of you on the sets of Lorai?

Payel: You mean catfights? No, there wasn’t any. Gargidi wasn’t there with us for too many days in the outdoors, so we didn’t get the chance to have a catfight!
Gargi: Oh, so what does that mean? (Laughs)
Payel: I don’t know what would have happened had we shot for many more days! I had first met Gargidi while doing Sudhu Tumi (2004) and I was really young and Gargidi was already a star and for me she will always be the actress I look up to. So with her there cannot be any catfight, ever. And it’s a very wrong notion that two actresses fight and gossip. Don’t men do that more? Men bitch more than women, they fight and are jealous of each other. 
Gargi: No, Payel, I think it depends on the individual.   

When was the last time you fought with a colleague?

Payel: See, I have the reputation of being always politically correct so even if I am angry with a colleague I don’t show it. I become indifferent. 
Gargi: I don’t really get angry at a colleague. Earlier I would feel disturbed if someone fought in front of me but with time I have changed and learned not to react.
Payel: Now you have a filter!
Gargi: Nowadays I don’t get angry because I share a professional relationship with all my colleagues. I can be angry with a person with whom I bond on a personal level. 
Payel: Issh there’s no spice in our answers, na?! (Laughs)
Gargi: Yes, we are not giving you gossip and masala!

When was the last time you made up with someone you fought with?

Payel: I can’t be angry with a person for a long time.
Gargi: What’s your sun sign?
Payel: Aquarius.
Gargi: That’s why you are so soft. I am a Taurean and I get angry very fast and my anger swells with time!
Payel: If the person I am angry with comes and says sorry, I melt! I am not stubborn or rigid. 
Gargi: If I’m angry with someone I love then I always tell him or her the reason. Earlier, like a typical Taurean, I would suppress my anger and not speak about it, but that’s harmful. With time I have understood that one should not nurture anger, it harms you.... You know, we’ve fought a lot for 
Lorai, starting from Bumbada (Prosenjit) to everyone and if the film does well, a lorai of different sorts will begin in our lives — that we must be better than our last film. That’s what lorai means to me, to be successful isn’t really a lorai, to hold on to the success for long is the actual lorai. 

What do you do when you see your colleagues fighting over something? Do you stop them or watch them fight?

Payel: I try and take the initiative to stop them. I don’t like negative vibes around me. 
Gargi: I fiddle with my phone. It’s best to avoid when two people are fighting. 

Do you fight for something till the end or do you give up easily?

Payel: No, I don’t give up easily. I have gone through a lot of bad phases in life and I had thought of giving up. There was a time when I was categorised, directors would say Payel can only play one kind of character and she can’t do anything else. I had to break that notion and I did it. I still haven’t done much with my life. I have a lot of things to do, miles to go. I have to achieve a lot in life.        
Gargi: For me, everyday is a fight. But for everything bad I always point my finger towards me. For everything that happens in your life, you are responsible for it. I have achieved everything on my own. When I lost my mother I thought this is it, I want to give up. But I could overcome it and move on. Now I don’t have any insecurities. Financially too, I’m stable. 

What has been the toughest fight so far?

Payel: See, I have been brought up in a very protected environment. So I haven’t seen a very difficult life till now. But yes, as I said there was a phase when my professional and personal life was going for a toss (obvious reference to her messy break-up with director Raj Chakraborty). Nothing was working in my favour. But I could come out of it and lead a normal life. That was the toughest time of my life.    
Gargi: See, for me whenever there were hard times I have consoled myself by saying that this is nothing, the hardest is yet to come. That made it a lot easier for me to handle a bad or a tough phase. There were bad phases but I don’t want to discuss those now.

What calms you down when you are angry?

Payel: A ‘sorry’ from the person I am angry with. Or a good film, very good music. And lots of shopping!
Gargi: Lots of love, hugs and kisses from my loved one.

Three tips to avoid fights at the workplace...

Payel: Be clear about your space, know where you stand and know your limitations. Avoid verbal accidents. Be transparent , diplomacy doesn’t work always.
Gargi: Before going out for work tell yourself to work more, talk less. PNPC (gossiping) is good but not too much. Believe that every human being is good and beautiful. And if all this fails and you still get angry, start fiddling with your phone!

A recent film you watched and loved...

Payel: Interstellar
Gargi: Haider

A Tolly actor you have a crush on...

Payel: Bumbada Gargi: Half of Kaushik Ganguly and half of Srijit Mukherji!
Payel: Which half of Srijit?! (Both go ROFL)
 

One thing you’ll never do on screen...

Payel: Frontal nudity
Gargi: I will never play a role that’s against my sensibilities and education
 

A recent rumour you’ve heard about yourself...

Payel: There are so many rumours about me
Gargi: Without rumour you  cannot be a star! 

Kushali Nag

What calms you down when you are angry? Tell t2@abp.in