Mithun and Arjun on the sets; (top) Sreelekha ready for a shot.

Slipping into the director’s seat hasn’t been much of a hassle for actor Arjun Chakraborty, thanks to the training he had under Gulzar years ago. From behind the camera, Arjun keeps his unit members on their toes. He explains every minute detail till everyone gets it right. t2 caught up with Arjun during a break on the sets of his directorial debut Tolly Lights at Bharat Lakshmi Studio.

What made you take up direction?

I have been exposed to good cinema from a very young age. I must have been 18 when I would watch films by Satyajit Ray, Rajen Tarafdar and Mrinal Sen. So I was naturally drawn to a career in direction. I was also fortunate to be associated with Gulzarsaab as an assistant director for four-and-a-half years, which honed my skills.

How did you get the chance to assist Gulzar?

That’s a long story. After my B.Sc, I went to Mumbai to find a job. While travelling on train from Udaipur (where I did my college) to Mumbai, I was flipping through a film magazine when I came across an interview of Gulzarsaab. I found his address below the article and visited his residence. He opened the door and told me that he couldn’t give me a break as an actor. But he was surprised when I told him that I wanted to assist him. The next day I was working with him in the Sharmila Tagore-starrer Namkeen. I was even paid my salary on the first day.

How many films did you assist Gulzar?

Four — Namkeen, Devdas (which was shelved midway), Angoor and Libas. Sanjeev Kumar even suggested that I act in films and dropped my name to a couple of directors. I bagged a meaty role in Zara Si Zindagi, starring Kamal Haasan. Ankush followed but after that I had no work in Mumbai for six months. It was then that Mrinalda offered me a role in Ek Din Achanak.

What is Tolly Lights all about?

It’s an adaptation of Suchitra Bhattacharya’s novel Rangeen Prithibi. My film is about how common people are attracted to the film industry and how they hanker to be a part of it. It also touches upon the party life of celebrities.

How difficult was it to adapt a novel into a film?

Dipanwita Ghosh Mukhopadhyay has written the script. While converting it to celluloid I had to keep in mind that each character gets a fair share of screen space. There are 42 characters in the film, including Mithunda who is in a cameo as an actor. Fact and fiction go side by side in my film. We’ve three songs and a part of the film will be shot in Pelling. Sreelekha plays an actress, while I play a struggling director. I can identify with my role.