He’s looking dapper in a brown jacket and denims when we meet him for a chat at Aauris, on Robinson Street. Settling down with a cup of black coffee, Abir Chatterjee opens up to t2 about growing as an actor and doing his best. 

You’ve played Byomkesh Bakshi in three films directed by Anjan Dutt. How did you make him different in Har Har Byomkesh?

Har Har Byomkesh (directed by Arindam Sil) is made on a much, much larger scale. Byomkesh in Har Har Byomkesh is not someone who sits at home and solves a case. Unlike my last Byomkesh films, which were conversation-heavy, Har Har Byomkesh has more action. Byomkesh is more agile, aggressive... ektu mastani achhey... and very romantic too! The romantic moments between Byomkesh and Satyabati were missing in the last Byomkesh films. Period-wise, too, it’s different. The last Byomkesh films were set in 1960. Har Har Byomkesh is set in 1946. And Byomkesh looks and talks normal and is not a gyandada! 

So your earlier Byomkesh was a gyandada?!

Yes! Like in Beni Sanghar (Byomkesh Phirey Elo directed by Anjan Dutt), he had long speeches. This Byomkesh (Har Har Byomkesh) is very sharp, physically and mentally agile. He is very confident, he faces the suspects with empty hands. He is not scared of a gun or a knife. He’s got a presence of mind and knows how to tackle a problem. And all this comes very easily to him and makes him a larger-than-life figure. Byomkesh is put on a god-like pedestal here. He is in command of everything that is happening around him. 

And you’ve made this Byomkesh look very different... 

Yes, I sport a chiselled look. Sleeves rolled up, gelled hair, thin-framed glasses. Byomkesh is very fashionable, that’s how Sharadindubabu (Bandopadhyay) has described him. I had grown my hair a little. I felt that the kind of acceptance I got for the last three Byomkesh films, I needed to put in something extra, something special so that people wouldn’t come and ask me, what new have you done? I had it at the back of my mind that I had to do something extra. I had to look fit because in Har Har Byomkesh he is in his late 20s. In the earlier Byomkesh films, he was in his mid-30s. I controlled my diet, I did a bit of jogging and walking. See, Byomkesh has given me a lot and I must give something back to him. The lean and mean look is my gift to Byomkesh.   

Now that Jisshu Sengupta has also slipped into the shoes of Byomkesh, the competition is stronger…

No, I don’t think like that. There’s no competition. If I have to prove anything, then that’s to myself and to my audience. A lot of people will say a lot of things. But I have my filter on 24x7. I have heard a lot of criticism and my only answer is through my work.  

What do you think of Jisshu as Byomkesh?

I haven’t watched the film yet! I didn’t get the time. I haven’t watched any films apart from my own films, and I am saying this selfishly. But now everyone thinks that Jisshu and I are battling against each other, nothing like that. 

You’re also playing Feluda alongside Byomkesh. Must be a challenge to portray them differently....

It’s one of the biggest challenges that I have to face. But it’s also an honour because no other actor has been lucky enough to play both Byomkesh and Feluda simultaneously. That gives me a huge kick and I come up with ways to make them different. 

I think there are a few basic differences between them, which I try and portray differently. From now on, all the Byomkesh films will have a romantic angle, which will work to my advantage since it is absent in Feluda. Also, Feluda is a superhero unlike Byomkesh. Besides Byomkesh, I think, I know him by now. But I still hero-worship Feluda. Byomkesh has become like me... I mean I understand Byomkesh a lot more now. And I try to be Byomkesh. I try to imbibe his honesty and his truth-seeking nature. Feluda is a superstar. I am still exploring Feluda.  

There’s a lip-lock between Byomkesh and Satyabati in Har Har Byomkesh and you look very comfortable in that scene. Are you willing to explore all avenues of acting now?

See, I had lip-lock scenes in 22shey Srabon, Hridh Majharey, Ebar Shabor, Ashbo Arekdin, Rajkahini. The list is long! I won’t say that I really like locking lips with heroines... darun lagey and that’s why I am doing the film... no! (Laughs) In Har Har Byomkesh, it went with the script though a lot of people have raised eyebrows saying it’s 1946, how come they are kissing?! Well, I don’t know how a newly-wed husband and wife did it differently then! But there’s also a section of the audience who are raving about the chemistry. Yes, I will explore newer things. As an actor, I need to grow.

How do you keep the actor in you updated?

I introspect. I don’t always get the time to watch good films, but I put myself in different situations and see how I react and I use that in the characters I play. 

Unlike your Byomkesh and Feluda films, your other films don’t do too well. Does that make you question the actor in you?

The onus is on the people to go and watch these films in the theatres. See, Byomkesh and Feluda are a brand and people will go and watch them. At least I am doing different films and I am confident that they are actually very good films. But if the audience don’t give us a chance, why should I be responsible for that? 
I am happy with the offers coming my way. Byomkesh and Feluda will always have a pull, which cannot be compared to other films. But the fact that these films are running, is it only because they are a brand? No. A lot depends on the actor who is playing these two iconic roles, because with Byomkesh and Feluda people are very possessive. To make these films work takes double the effort. Don’t overlook that, please. 

Among your contemporaries like Jisshu, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Dev, whose work do you like more?

Ritwick (Chakraborty). I am a fan of his acting. Param is also doing well. And I must, must congratulate Jisshu on his success through this interview because really Jisshu’s work was difficult (playing Byomkesh). 

And who do you compete with?

Param! I think he is very good.

Do you think Abir in Har Har Byomkesh is the best Byomkesh till now? Why/why not? 
Tell t2@abp.in