(L-R) Gargi, Bickram, Tanusree, Jaya and Arindam raise a toast to Aborto and Rwin at The Park’s Saffron before digging into the restaurant’s all-new ‘green menu’. Pictures: Rashbehari Das

After Aborto, what do all of you think of Arindam the director?

Bickram Ghosh: I think he’s done a wonderful job!

Gargi Roy Chowdhury: I was always fond of him as an actor. I am struck by the kind of care he’s taken to make the film, how he’s injected passion into every character. I feel one could classify his filmmaking into a particular gharana but he shouldn’t bring in fusion.

Bickram: Fusion?

Gargi: No, not the musical kind… everyone has their own identity and one shouldn’t mix that up.

Tanusree: To me, the film stood out for being shomoy-er aborto.

Jaya Ahsan: It’s difficult for me to say anything because I feel like I’m still caught in Aborto! Maybe if I see the film after some time, I might be able to discover something new. Everytime I saw the film during dubbing or editing, it felt new.

Arindam, what’s the positive and negative of directing colleagues and friends?

Arindam: I haven’t worked with Gargi, Tanusree or Raima (Sen) yet as a director. Gargi’s been an old friend and we’ve been co-actors. We played brother and sister in a serial called Probaho and realised that we have an extraordinary wavelength and chemistry with each other.

Gargi: It was my second screen work. In 1999.

Arindam: And over time I developed a lot of respect for Gargi as an actor. When I turned director, she was among the two or three I had in mind while casting for Charu. After meeting Jaya, I chose her for certain reasons but what I’m trying to say is that as a friend, I have unconditional love and faith in my friends from the industry but as a director I try to be very non-partial. Bickram, on the other hand, has been a childhood friend…

Bickram: Yours or mine?

Arindam: Well, Bickram’s childhood and my adulthood! (Both start laughing) Yes, Bickram and I have a lot in common. We have a penchant for good spirit, good women…

Bickram: Good women maney? Shukla ar Jaya (Seal) tai toh?!

Arindam: I’ve also been trying to learn diplomacy from Bickram, which I lack!

Bickram: Bah!

Arindam: I was very clear about the soundscape I wanted for Aborto. I had Gustavo Santaolalla in mind, something like flamenco and classical blending together. In Calcutta if there was anyone who could do that, it was Bickram. Whether it was about the use of raga, flamenco or silence, we were always on the same wavelength.

Bickram: Frankly, I’ve never felt more comfortable with a director. I do very few films but there have been areas of conflict or ideological differences, which is why I have a record number of films that I’ve left midway. But here we were spot on. I remember this scene when Charu comes away after an abortion. One could have violins or a raga playing but both Arindam and I felt it would have to be the sound of the heartbeat.

Arindam: And he produced that sound by beat-boxing.

Bickram: Do you know that Arindam had scrapped the song Mon uthlo? Not because he disliked it but because he couldn’t find a sequence for it! I was disappointed. So I brought the song in thrice, instrumentally in the background score.

Arindam: Not in consultation with me, by the way…

Bickram: And when Arindam went through it, he was like… ‘okay, now the song comes in not just once but many times!’

Gargi: For this, the comfort level is important.

Arindam: Aborto’s music is topping the charts. And it’s not because Bickram is a good friend that he’s doing my next film. Rwin will again need a tremendous soundscape for which I could only think of Bickram.

Bickram: And I’m tired of being labelled the rhythm man. If you watch Little Zizou or Aborto, you’ll hardly find rhythm. People come to me thinking I will do music which is original, acoustic and international.

Arindam: Coming back to friendship versus professionalism, I’m glad that as a director and not as a friend I’m being able to offer Gargi a role in my next film. I don’t know why she’s gone unnoticed so long.

Gargi: It’s been more than 14 years of television work. I had a very secure place, never asked anyone for a role in films but now I want to work in films. I am taking a break from television.

Arindam, you’ve established yourself with a relationship tale in Aborto. Why jump to a completely different genre with Rwin, a detective story?

Arindam: I’m not making any departure. I’ve created a genre for myself and I’ll work within it. Relationships form the crux of Rwin but the camera, music, treatment will all be different.

Is there a pressure with Anjan Dutt and Rituparno Ghosh’s Bomkesh films and Srijit Mukherji’s Kakababu coming up?

Arindam: See, they have to live up to the expectations of their previous films. I just have to live up to the expectations of Aborto and create a detective — Shabor Dasgupta — that no one has ever seen. To me he’s a very flesh-and-blood character. One who is vulnerable, yet at the same time acts as a voice of conscience. He will work like a catalyst, a balance between real and surreal. I have to also respect the fact that Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay finally decided to give the film rights to me.

What made you think of Saswata Chatterjee as Shabor Dasgupta? Wouldn’t it clash with his image as Bomkesh’s aide Ajit?

Arindam: I think he’ll give Shabor Dasgupta the flesh and blood I’m looking at.

Gargi: Shirshenduda’s forte is his Bangaliana, one that speaks of a rich ancestry. I think Apuda (Saswata) has that in him.

Tell us about the cast...

Arindam: There’s Tanusree, who was recommended by Gargi!

Tanusree: I had no idea!

Arindam: I had met Tanusree at parties, she always looked attractive. I watched Uro Chithi. I feel she has immense potential. She plays a very flashy character here.

Bickram: My son has a huge crush on her.

Tanusree: Yes, Tatin wanted to marry me! (Laughs)

Arindam: Gargi’s character, I’m not going to divulge. It’s a complete contrast to the social fabric she belongs to. I cast Raima because I’m going to exploit her beauty. Also, she’s a director’s actor. I’ve seen how Rituda (Rituparno) brings out the best in her. I have that same conviction. There’s Abir (Chatterjee) too. I can’t tell you what he plays but he will make girls fall in love with him again, for sure.

You’re also mounting it on a big scale with Los Angeles as one of the shooting locales…

Arindam: Yes, I want to do everything real time. The Sunset Boulevard and Santa Monica are my favourite places where I’ve spent several hours. I can see the story taking shape in that space. Rwin should hit the floors in June-July.

Any childhood associations with detective and mystery stories… either books or films?

Bickram: Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot....

Tanusree: Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. I don’t read much but when I do, I go for detective stories. I’m also a big fan of Bomkesh. More than Feluda.

Jaya: I’ve read mostly the Masud Rana series. I remember hiding behind my desk in school and reading those books.

Gargi: I’ve been a voracious reader. I’m fond of Miss Marple but I’m more fond of Bengali detectives.

Arindam: I’ve read a lot of Kiriti Roy and Swapan Kumar. I was a backbencher just so that I could lie back and read these books.