“Dekhte khub shundor aar jomati hoyechhe (It’s looking beautiful and exciting) but everybody seemed to be a better actor than me!” blushed Sujoy Ghosh as he stepped out of his first private viewing of Satyanweshi and settled down for an adda as t2 zoomed in on the Kahaani maker’s role reversal.

Is the build-up to your acting debut turning out to be more nerve-racking than your directorial one?

The directorial nerve-racking bit I’ve forgotten because it was 10 years ago but currently this is turning out to be more nerve-racking because Rituda isn’t here. I’m not tense just yet but before the release I will be. Tokhon jog byayam korbo (laughs). But I’m really looking forward to the release now. I’ve taken an exam, so I am a little anxious about the results. If Rituda was around, I would have been able to hide behind him but otar ekhon kono scope nei. What happens is, as a director anything good or bad is my responsibility. No matter who’s in it or whether it turns out good or bad, it’s my baby. I didn’t have that kind of fear about this from the beginning because this film was ultimately Rituda’s (laughs). Rituda chole giye ektu kinchit chaap hoyechhe (With Rituda no more, there is a bit of pressure on me).

What kind of chaap?

The chaap to meet Rituda’s expectations. The man who worked so hard to write the script and make the film, the chaap was to honour his work in the way he had envisaged it. There were natural worries about how Rituda would have edited a certain part, the music he might have pasted there or how he would have liked me to dub. But all that is theoretical now. The audience will say whether we’ve done it the right way or not.

A lot of people felt that you should pick up the reins of Satyanweshi after Rituda. Did you feel that pressure?

Na re…. At the end of the day the film belongs to Moni and Shrikant (of Shree Venkatesh Films) and they have to take the call. I was always there from the time Rituda called me and said, ‘Shon, aami ekta script likhbo, jodi tui korish taholei (I will write a script only if you act)’. That’s the point from which I got involved because he had put me in that spot. I’m still there but from the time I stepped in as an actor, I kept my directorial self somewhere outside because as a director you would have your issues, vision, apprehensions, good bits and bad bits and you don’t want that to interfere. I didn’t want those fears or apprehensions to come rushing back by taking over post-production. I didn’t want to be put in a spot where I’d have to think of those. I would have only messed up the film. It was Rituda’s vision and it was important to work towards that.

Do you remember your first shot?

O baba! It was a scene in north Bengal on horseback. I needed to move around, look here and there, say my dialogues and breathe while sitting on the horse. I had Indraneil (Sengupta) with me who seemed greatly experienced with horses. Aar aami gheme ekakar, maney bibhotsho byapar (I was sweating profusely, it was crazy)! Kintu jodio aami na na kore dhukechhi (Though I started as a reluctant actor) I saw how it all turned out just fine.

Are you a Bomkesh fan?

Not a fan, but I’ve read. I used to read a lot because the times in which I grew up, there was nothing apart from books in terms of entertainment. I remember enjoying Makorshar Rosh.

How much of Bomkesh Bakshi did you see in Sujoy Ghosh?

Nothing. That’s what I had asked Rituda. Whatever Bomkesh is, I was just the opposite — in terms of physicality, personality. But Rituda said, ‘Na! Aami kuri-ta cinema korechhi, aami jani (I have made 20 films I, know).’ And Rituda doing it gave me strength. After a point even I wanted to do it because this kind of an opportunity does not come your way so simply. In Bombay I see so many people trying to break into an acting or directing career, working hard for it and here I had Ma Lakshmi coming in through my door, how could I reject that? Initially I had my apprehensions and then I thought, why shouldn’t I do it. I’ll never let go of such an opportunity.

What do you think Rituda wanted out of you?

He wanted me to be myself for some weird reason. I was trying to get inspired by Hollywood, method acting and thinking hyan karenga tyan karenga (I will do this and that) when one day Rituda sat me down and told me, ‘Dekh toke toh niyechhi ekta karoner jonnyo. Tui Sujoy boley. Ekhon tui shob bodley jodi ekta onyo lok hoye jash amar tokey dorkaar nei (I have taken you only because you are Sujoy. Now if you try and become someone else, I don’t need you)! Then I realised that he wanted certain things, which he felt were natural in me — attitude, mannerisms, without making me conscious of it. The only thing he did tell me was ‘shanto ho’ (be calm) because in the 1940s no one would jump around! Their way of talking, walking, thinking had a certain mejaaj, a bit laid-back, lethargic…

Did his style as a filmmaker influence you in any way?

The way he could turn a small story into a film, I am very envious and totally in awe. What I especially liked about Rituda was his sense of clarity. Not just about the subject but the entire world within which a story is set. For example, I knew nothing of the 1940s. To know about it I would have to ask Rituda. The research he did and the knowledge he had, I don’t think I ever will.

There must have been moments when your natural directorial instincts wanted to take over?

To be honest, more than my acting, I worked harder on this aspect. Before doing this film I worked hard and prepared myself in a way that when I step into the sets I enter as an actor. Consciously. I knew that if I went in as a director, jinish ta puro ghente jabey (it would be a mess). I would end up pointing out things, wanting things a certain way. You have to know where you stand. Rituda’r tulonaay, ami ekjon nabalok (Compared to Rituda, I am a novice). Whether I’m right or wrong, for me to even tell a senior director like Rituda anything on set is just not right. That’s why whatever Rituda asked me to do, aami kore diyechhi ekdom speak-ti-not (without a word).

Which is your most unforgettable Rituda memory?

The first time I ever met Rituda, which was on the sets of Ghosh & Co (the TV interview series). Right after I finished Aladin. I entered the dressing room and saw him sitting there, fully decked, his shining bald head, goyna gati (jewellery), tip-top. In front of him was this large thala with rice and pathar mangsho (mutton). That is my lasting image of Rituda. It was on that very day he had asked if I’d agree to act in his film someday. I had said ‘yes’ without thinking he was serious. So the first day he met me, he offered me a film and treated me to bhaat and pathar mangsho!

Satyajit Ray, Basu Chatterjee, Anjan Dutt, Rituparno Ghosh, Dibakar Banerjee... if you were to make a Bomkesh film, who would you have cast?

Abhishek (Bachchan), with eyes shut. I had told Rituda also. If you want to make Bomkesh a pan-India character I think Abhishek is the right person. He has a certain Indianness in him. I think he could be prepared for this.

Which director-turned-actor do you admire?

I thought Kaushik (Ganguly) was very good in Aborto and Farhan (Akhtar) is a good actor.

What if people love you as Bomkesh, will we see you going the Farhan Akhtar way?

No! Aami ekhaney directing korte eshechhi, acting korte ashini (I am here to direct, not act). It’s as simple as that. Du noukay pa diye chola jay na (You can’t move with two feet in two boats). If I have to act, I have to let go of directing and keep on acting till I reach a certain level. But I don’t want to do that.... And who else is there who can convince me to act? Nobody. I’m hoping I won’t be in the middle of such a dilemma in future! (Laughs)

Arpita, who is married into a royal family in Satyanweshi, with Sujoy and Anindya Chattopadhyay, who plays Ajit. Pictures: Pabitra Das

What do your friends in Bombay have to say about your actor avatar?

They are sharpening their knives with an evil grin on their faces! No one’s ever seen me as an actor so they’re all out for a good laugh. Vishal, Shekhar, all my director friends like Siddharth (Anand) and Tarun (Mansukhani), then Riteish (Deshmukh)… oder besh haanshi pachhe. They’re happy and supportive and at the same time they’re happy for themselves about getting a good laugh out of me. Horrible people! They want to come for the premiere, have a show in Bombay… joto rokomer bod buddhi kintu aami oder dekhte debona (...they are hatching wicked plans but I won’t allow them to watch the film)! I know their intentions. They’re looking forward to a three-hour classic… jak giye dekha jak (...let’s see). (Laughs)

You spend so much time in Calcutta now, what do you do all day?

I’m usually here on work and free in the evenings when I read books, visit my mother in Patuli, khai dai aar ghurey berai (I eat and I roam around). I don’t have a very active life or set plan when I’m in Calcutta.

Bomkesh or Feluda: Feluda

All-time favourite private eye: Hercule Poirot

Fave actor as sleuth: Soumitra Chatterjee as Pradosh Mitter

Fave mystery novel: Jokher Dhon by Hemendra Kumar Roy

Fave detective film: Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes

Fave sidekick: Lal Mohan Ganguly

A mystery story you’d like to direct: Nihar Ranjan Gupta’s Kalo Bhromor. At one time I really wanted to make it

Mohua Das