An actor’s life is never easy,” Paoli Dam tells t2, talking about her Friday film Devi. She has been on her toes ever since she landed from Chennai, wrapping up her first Tamil film. In between promoting Devi, Paoli is spending time with her mother who is recovering from an injury. The chat...
It must be tough promoting a film while your mother is in hospital...
It is. Ma is better now after the surgery and has been pushing me to not waste time in the hospital but to promote Devi. Now that is my mother, my biggest inspiration. Today whatever I am is only because of her. Besides, Devi (directed by Rick Basu and produced by Macneill Engineering Ltd) is such an important film for me that I really want to promote it in a big way. But yes, I am sort of torn between the two loves of my life, Ma and cinema!
Devi seems to be quite a trippy film, a mix of sex, substance abuse, one-night stands. It reminds one of Dev.D except here the protagonist is a woman, that you play...
No, no, no, no! Dev.D is a fantastic film and Anurag Kashyap is one of my favourite directors. Well, to answer your question better, let me tell you how Devi happened. Rick had approached me a couple of years back and wanted to make a film based on my life. The title of the film was Paoli! (Laughs) He had wanted to shoot me in different moods and moments. I knew Rick... he has edited a lot of big Tolly films. I was very sure of his visual strength, so I told him to drop the idea of his film on me (giggles) and instead to do a light-hearted romcom. Then he started developing the script of Devi.
But Devi is anything but a light-hearted romcom...
Well, it’s a love story, the journey of a woman who has loved and lost. Basically Devdas, another adaptation you can say. And what else is Devdas? A love story written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay from a male perspective. At least a dozen adaptations have happened starring some legendary actors... also Shah Rukh Khan.... You know the first thing that struck me, when Rick told me that Devi would be a contemporary version of Devdas with gender reversal, is that Shah Rukh has played him! So I grabbed it. Also, because of the gender reversal, the film immediately became unique. So Devdas has become Devi, Chunilal has become Nadia (Elina Kazan), Chandramukhi has become Charlie (Shataf Figar), a gigolo. And Paro has become Pratik, played by newcomer Subh Mukherjee. So everything is very fresh. And yes, you are right, it’s not a romcom but a popular tragic love story.
Tell us about your look... the hippie, wasted look.
Rick wanted to create a look that has not been done by any Bengali film actress. See, we heroines always want to look beautiful in films. That’s the first criterion, honestly. But Rick said, ‘Paoli just get this out of your head that you will look pretty and beautiful as Devi. People have already seen a pretty Paoli in film after film. I am going to make you look ugly.’ Now Devi is a video blogger who has travelled the world and has had a lot of exposure, she has her unique, bizarre style statement. So I was given dreadlocks, a dark make-up which is the character. Devi is wasted when Pratik is no longer with her. But she is quite flamboyant too. And it was so difficult... the make-up. But it was worth it. We shot a major portion on Pattaya’s Walking Street and everyone walking past either gave a high five or a thumbs up!
How much of Paoli Dam is Devi?
(Laughs) Well, Devi is ambitious, has a lot of spine, calls a spade a spade and even though she looks depressed and wasted, she is not a depressed soul. And that is what I identify with her. I am certainly not depressed about any downs in my life. I don’t wallow in self-pity.
Certainly you are anything but depressed, your wine high photographs on social media are proof enough!
(Laughs out loud) Oh yes! I am high on life, red wine is a way of celebrating life. I love to host wine parties with a few very close friends as you know. And we shall certainly have one after Devi releases! I just hope people like the film, like our experimentation. I have played some very important characters in the past like Madhabilata (Kalbela, directed by Goutam Ghose) or Ela (Elar Char Adhyay, directed by Bappaditya Bandyopadhyay) or even Kheya in Natoker Moto. But Devi is very different from all of them and unlike Kheya, Ela and Madhabilata, playing Devi wasn’t emotionally draining. I had a lot of fun being Devi. Devi to me is a breath of fresh air, like coming out of a Thai spa!
Thai spa?!
(Laughs) Yes, you know the feeling of walking out of a Thai spa after a rejuvenating deep tissue massage!
Paoli’s fave trippy films
- Enter The Void: Mind-blowing! That’s the word that came to my mind after watching this film.
- Irreversible: The treatment, the trippy effect...brilliant.
- Dev.D: A heady experience.
- Udta Punjab: What a film. Left an indelible mark on me.
- Go Goa Gone: I like watching zombie films!
- Trainspotting: Visuals, the treatment, the content, the concept.
Wardrobe: Justine Ann; rings: Ornaate; styling: Disha Thakkar; make-up: Sourav Ganguly; hair: Shyamoli Das
