Picture by Rashbehari Das

These days, Jisshu Sengupta is living out of his Mitsubishi Pajero. And the reason is jatra. He plays a cop in the jatra pala Goriber Debota, for which he has been zipping across the heartland of Bengal since October. A t2 chat on Jisshu’s unusual choice of work...

You have a lot on your platter at the moment, from films to mega serial (Aparajito on STAR Jalsha) to your production house. What prompted you to say yes to jatra?

I have been getting offers to do jatra for quite some time but I never gave it a thought, though my debut in jatra happened in 2000. After wrapping up the ETV Bangla mega serial Mahaprabhu, I did a pala also titled Mahaprabhu with my father (Ujjal Sengupta), who was a regular in jatra. At that time I was too young — only 20 years old — to realise if it was good or bad. Last year I did the jatra pala called Rastar Chhele Rajkumar. Right now, I am doing Goriber Debota, where I play a cop. I love it because of the immediate audience reaction. It’s one genre I think I love being a part of. And the money in jatra is definitely huge. Jatra is basically commercial film of the ’80s. It’s like a Dabangg or Singham. But a lot has changed... the high-pitched acting, the loud laughter and howling have gone. The acting pattern, too, has changed.

You are doing different kinds of films, from Rituparno Ghosh’s Chitrangada to Atanu Ghosh’s Ek Phaali Rod. What kind of a kick does jatra give you?

To be honest, I am not concentrating on the so-called commercial films anymore. I am not interested anymore because I wasn’t given the opportunity when I wanted it. I should have got the opportunity to prove myself in commercial films, but I am not complaining because jatra is like commercial film for me. After doing meaningful films with directors like Rituparno Ghosh and Atanu Ghosh, I have realised that I relate to their kind of films more and as an actor that gives me a great kick. I want to explore all kinds of mediums, including jatra. I think I am the only actor in Tollywood who is doing television, festival films and jatra, and I’m loving it. I think it’s one of the better phases in my life. If people think I am doing jatra because I am not getting films, then let them think so. I had discussed it with Rituda (Rituparno). I asked him if doing jatra would hamper my film career. He said, ‘No. The kind of films you do, it won’t’.

I am neck-deep into films. I am supposed to do Rituda’s next film, Neel Mukhopadhyay’s Ghente Gha is ready for release, Chitrangada is at the post-production stage, and I have a few days of shoot left for Anurag Basu’s Barfee. I am also getting offers from Bombay and Delhi for television work. I haven’t signed anything yet because I have a production house which needs a lot of my time. So, lots of things are happening in my life and jatra is just a part of it.

Isn’t it tedious juggling so many things?

Very tedious. I need to travel five-six hours every day by car. I come back to Calcutta every day. I am travelling to Murshidabad, Purulia and Bankura. I am travelling the entire night, I reach home at 6am and I go for my shoot at 8am. It’s very exhausting. I have done 13 shows since October. There are another 15-16 shows left. I sleep in my Pajero these days. I had to say no to seven films, of which I know I would have done at least four.

The audience for a jatra is not the same as the audience for your films...

Yes. Many people do functions. In the suburbs there is a Jeet night, a Dev night and there’s a Jisshu night. People who watch our shows also watch jatra. Maybe they don’t watch the films I am a part of, but that’s absolutely fine!