Prosenjit and Richa shoot for Rajib’s film on Friday. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

You have taken up a masala film (directed by Rajib) again after a gap of two-and-a-half years. Why?

The last mainstream masala film I did was Jor Jar Muluk Tar (directed by Haranath Chakraborty). I don’t know why it didn’t work but it really broke my heart. So I decided to do mainstream films only with proper producers. I never said I wouldn’t do a masala film again. Prosenjit, who is working for the past 28-29 years, has a huge audience for masala films... when I go to the suburbs, they still talk about Amar Sangi and call me ‘Guru’! So I decided to do one masala film a year. There’s nothing wrong with that. See, I am trying to create a new audience for Bengali cinema through films like Clerk, Houseful, Autograph, 22shey Srabon. It’s the urban multiplex audience.

With Rituda’s (Rituparno Ghosh) and Buddhada’s (Buddhadeb Dasgupta) films, I am known in the international markets. And with this film, I am catering to the audience in my third chain, where films like Autograph and 22shey Srabon don’t reach... for instance, the interiors of Midnapore. I haven’t forgotten them. It is they who made Prosenjit, Prosenjit. But of course, I won’t do anything that doesn’t go with my image and that applies to mainstream films as well. I have my limitations. I can’t play a college kid anymore. A young generation of actors like Jeet, Dev and Soham are doing that now and they are very good.

You get a lot of offers to do masala films. What is special about this particular (untitled) film?

I was waiting for the right script. This film is a remake of Siruthai (Tamil) and Vikramarkudu (Telugu) and like in the original, I have a double role. One is a thief, the other is a cop. The cop has a daughter (played by Ashmi Ghosh). It’s an emotional story of a father and a daughter.... Rajib and I had planned to do a mainstream film on a father-son story but the rights of the original film for that are with another producer.... And I am like a guardian to Rajib. He had wanted to shift to Bombay but I stopped him. I introduced him to Rana (Abhijit Guha) and Sudeshna (Roy). They were doing a lot of television work back then and he started working with them. Today he is a big name and the production house (Eskay Movies) is big too.

Is this film different from the kind of films Dev and Jeet do?

No, I don’t think so. Except for the characterisation. See, the kind of characters Dev and Jeet play will not suit me. They are playing characters that I played in my early phases. But this film is very much like the mainstream films they are doing, with song-dance and kick ass action. It’s quite challenging for me, also because there’s a Bollywood remake (Rowdy Rathore) being shot.

I never deny the fact that at one point of time I was a part of a film like Baba Keno Chakor. People used to bad-mouth it and make fun of it! But can anyone deny its huge box-office success? I am a very emotional actor. I am not calculative. An actor has to be emotional but there’s also a mathematics of acting. Actors who know the mathematics of acting are superb. The other type with no background, they can create magic when they stand in front of the camera. Sabitri Chatterjee, for example... there’s no one like her. But yes, after working for so many years, I know the mathematics of acting, and yet I work from my heart. That’s why I don’t believe in doing too much homework. But I am also very cautious now. I don’t say yes to a film until I cook the story. And only if it tastes very good do I say yes. Prosenjit is a brand now and I have to be very careful.

After films like Autograph and 22shey Srabon, aren’t you taking a risk by doing masala films?

No. Why should that be? Naseeruddin Shah debuted in Govind Nihalani and Shyam Benegal films and then did a Tridev where he shook his leg to Oye oye! I am not saying I am Naseeruddin Shah. Kamal Haasan, too, balanced mainstream and sensible films. I have grown up watching them and I am following in their footsteps. Even Aamir (Khan) is doing that. He is a few years younger than me. He is doing a Ghajini and at the same time a Taare Zameen Par. I know what kind of acting pitch is needed for which film. As long as I am not an eyesore, I will do these films — one every year. I am doing everything that an actor needs to do. I work out in the gym... I am very hard-working.

I still want to achieve a lot more. There’s a lot that’s brewing inside me and I want to accomplish all that. See, in Bollywood a person who’s watching Dabangg at the multiplex is also watching Delhi Belly there. We haven’t been able to do that with Bengali films yet. Mainstream masala movies should also be watched by the plex audience and that is something we will have to achieve.

Will this new film achieve that?

I think Moner Manush achieved it, in the sense that it did very well at the plexes as well as in the suburbs.... It will take time. The divide will fade, slowly. We need more multiplexes in the suburbs. Now the onus lies on the new generation of stars — Dev, Jeet, Soham.... I am not doing this film for money. I am not doing any film for money now. Yes, it is my bread and butter but ask any producer, they will tell you Bumbada doesn’t bargain. I bargain with the director, with the subject, the producer… money comes much later. If this film runs at the plexes, it will be my biggest remuneration.

You are sporting a different look...

Yes. I am sporting two different looks. But both are quite similar. As the thief, I have a lean look with a moustache. The cop also has a moustache but slightly different. Richa (Gangopadhyay) is paired with the thief.

What plans do you have for Ideas, your production house?

The Bapi Bari Ja (directed by Abhijit-Sudeshna) shoot is complete. I might do a promotional song for the film. I have a huge fan base among the youth after Autograph and 22shey Srabon (laughs). Now as a producer, I want to give them youth-centric films like Bapi Bari Ja. I plan to do two films in three years, but production won’t be a full-fledged business for me.

What films are you doing next?

I am doing Goutamda’s (Ghose) next film where I play a corporate guy... it’s urban, very different from Moner Manush. I am playing an underworld don in a film by debutant director Samiran Datta. Next year, I will do Ashwathama, a play directed by Koushik Sen. I am also doing Srijit’s (Mukherji) next. Neeraj Pandey (director of A Wednesday) is very keen on doing a Bengali film with me. We’ve had a meeting in Bombay recently. And (Dibakar Banerjee’s) Shanghai is a very important film of mine, which releases next year.... I hope Aparajita Tumi does well. I will do Tony’s (Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury) next. Good directors from Bombay are inquiring about me! Touchwood....