Prosenjit in Bikram Singha

The buzz is that Bikram Singha (releases on May 25) is a frame-by-frame copy of the superhit films Veera Madakari (Kannada), Siruthai (Tamil) and Vikramarkudu (Telugu)...

No. It’s not possible to copy a film frame by frame. The Kannada film was made seven years ago, the Telugu film five years ago and the Tamil film two years ago. Everybody has developed the story in their own way. I’m not someone who sits with a laptop, watches the original film and copies it frame by frame. I always incorporate my thoughts into each and every scene. Bikram Singha is technically different, the acting pace is different…. We have set the film in Bengal and automatically everything else changes. Besides, I have omitted the sex scenes between the hero and heroine in the south Indian films, so I had to completely change their track. It’s there (sex scenes) in Rowdy Rathore though.

Are you apprehensive that the Akshay Kumar-starrer Rowdy Rathore (the Bolly remake) may overshadow Bikram Singha?

Rajib

Bikram Singha is releasing a week before Rowdy Rathore. It doesn’t matter to me. I am sure the Bengal audience will choose Bikram Singha over Rowdy Rathore and I can assure you that ma-mashimas will cry watching Bikram Singha. Rowdy Rathore has more sex scenes and mine is a clean entertainer.

Bikram Singha is being pitched as Prosenjit’s comeback to masala films. It’s also very expensive. Are you under serious pressure to deliver?

Well, everyone thinks Bikram Singha is an out-and-out action film but it’s actually a very emotional, sentimental father-daughter story. How the daughter helps Goopy (Prosenjit the thief) become Bikram Singha (Prosenjit, the no-nonsense cop) is what Bikram Singha is about. It’s the right kind of film for Bumbada’s (Prosenjit) comeback to masala movies. I have known Bumbada for a very long time and I have worked with him at his production house. The amount of hard work and time he has given to this film is unmatchable. And, for the first time, a Bengali film was shot in Jordan. These are the plus points. The scale on which the film is made has never been attempted in Bengali. At least, that’s what I think! I am grateful that my producer (Eskay Movies) had faith in me, for believing that I would justify the budget. Bumbada depended on me, which really boosted my confidence. Whatever little bit I understand of the audience, I know they are going to like it. Khoob bhalo chhobi hoyechhe!

Why did the cost shoot up?

We shot for 80 days — the longest shoot schedule for a Bengali film in recent times! Paglu was shot in 51 days and Amanush in 52 days. The budget for Paglu was Rs 5 crore. Add another two crores to that for Bikram Singha. For one fight sequence, we created a six-storeyed building from where Bumbada jumps. Every frame, every scene will speak of the expenses. A single fight sequence went on for 14 days, no dialogue, nothing... only fight! We shot another fight sequence in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh for 10 days. We also shot in Chennai and Hyderabad, apart from Calcutta. A song sequence was shot in Bombay.

You were apparently determined to make the film only with Prosenjit...

I was looking for a subject which would be a blockbuster and I knew only Bumbada could carry a film like that on his shoulders. The other reason why I cast him is because the character Bikram Singha has a seven-year-old daughter. The other heroes like Dev, Jeetda or Bittu (Soham), their fans won’t relate to them as the father of a seven-year-old. Plus, it’s a double role, one is a thief and the other a reserved cop. There’s a contrast which I thought only Bumbada could pull off.

Prosenjit and Richa

Why cast a south Indian heroine (Richa Gangopadhyay) instead of a Tolly girl?

If I wanted I could have got Shrabanti to do it or any other actress for that matter. But since I, you and everyone from this industry know who Bumbada is, what his age is, I wanted a heroine with whom nobody has seen him yet. If Shrabanti had played his love interest, at least one person in the crowd would have pointed out that she had once played his daughter (Mayar Bandhan) and she is now dancing with him in Jordan! Richa, nobody knows her. People will not have difficulty relating to her. Plus a new pair, new chemistry…

You’ve made four films. Don’t you wish to make a film on an original subject?

Of course! As soon as I get a producer. I have two original scripts ready. I’m hoping that after Bikram Singha, I will have producers who will back my original scripts. Talks are on with Reliance, Srijan.... I want to make a film with a new boy and a girl like Raj (Chakraborty) had done with Chirodini... Tumi Je Amar. Also, there’s a dearth of scriptwriters in Tollywood. We immediately need a handful of good scriptwriters.