Bangladesh and India are the same to me. I have never separated the two. I belong to both the places, and both are mine

I  have never considered Bangladesh to be a different country at all. The people over there are in no way different from us. We share the same language, we look alike, we wear almost the same attire and the love for our language is same... we even eat the same staple food — rice and fish. So the question is, what makes us different? Why do we call India and Bangladesh two different countries? Is it just because of the border that was drawn by Cyril Radcliffe?

Up in the air or on the road

The love that I get from the people of Bangladesh is indefinable and the love I have for them is too personal. I have travelled to Bangladesh a number of times. But I have always gone there via flight to Dhaka. 

For the shoot of my new film Shankhachil, directed by Goutam Ghose (releases on April 14), I had to travel by road and cross the India-Bangladesh border. Frankly speaking, while travelling I never felt that I was in a different country. It was just like any other road trip by car. Once I crossed the Bhomra border, it took us around 45 minutes to reach Satkhira, the shooting spot. Then, how can I even say that I had gone to a different country? 

Only during the time of immigration at the border area does one feel that one has entered a different country. When I travel for my shows in Bengal, it takes me more than three hours to reach a place. 

Shooting in Bangladesh 

The smell of the land made me feel like I was in my own country. 

I must mention here the help extended to me by the BSF (Border Security Force) and BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) when I reached the border area. I got emotional and was happy to see huge crowds gathering over there just to have a glimpse of me. Our shoot began from the very next day we reached Bangladesh. We had to shoot at different locations and at the border area. Surprisingly, when I was beside the Ichhamati river, my mobile caught the Indian cell phone network. I could even see India from there, and it was just a 20-minute boat ride away. 

We got to know from BGB that the border of India and Bangladesh is on the river itself. This is really a shame. The shame is for those people who have tried to divide us, who have tried to create differences between the people. But have they really been able to do so? No, we all are one and united. 

Working with Goutam Ghose

Since the beginning of my acting career, I had dreamt of working with Goutam Ghose. Even when I was 17 or 18 and going through my struggling phase, I had asked Goutamda when we would work together. Finally, many years later, we got together for Moner Manush. And now six years after Moner Manush, Goutamda and I have come together again for Shankhachil. 

When it comes to Goutamda’s shoots, one has to be ready from 3am, be it in Calcutta, Taki or Bangladesh.   Every day while travelling in Bangladesh, I had to stop at six-seven places just to wave at the people, have a few words and shake hands with them. 

All these made me very emotional and the only thing that gnawed at the back of my mind was just one question — why this border? The birds are flying freely. So why can’t we travel to each other’s places without a visa? The people over there never let me or my team feel that we were different. We went for the daawats, and had amazing food.

The functions organised by BGB and the police on March 26, which is the Independence Day of Bangladesh, was very special.

A special connection

We started our shoot in Calcutta exactly a year ago. Our call time on Day One was 6am and none of us was late even for a minute. The cast and crew were so energetic and fast that they didn’t waste any time. We even shot on the road during heavy traffic. 

Goutamda spells perfection, and that’s what I love the most about this man. He needs perfection in every little shot, and this is what a film should be like.

I have a very special connection with Sajbati, who plays my daughter in Shankhachil. I would chat and play with her in between shots. My on-screen wife Kushum took special care of us all. After the shoot, we would chat, sing songs and just enjoy the nature. We never felt that half of the team was from another country, and we all were like one big family. 

In Bangladesh, we had some scenes in a school, and the schoolchildren there were so innocent that I started thinking of myself as a student. Bangladesh and India are the same to me. I have never separated the two. I belong to both the places, and both are mine.