Swapner Din has been stuck for four years. What did you go through?
A director goes through hell when his films are stuck for so long. The problem is not so much when a director has no access beyond his directorial work. In my case, of course, apart from my remuneration I take a percentage of the foreign sales. When producer Jhamu Sughand failed to release the film, I moved on to Kaalpurush, which was also with Jhamu. Finally, Piyali Films is releasing Swapner Din. I have nothing against Jhamu but it has been a disturbing phase for me. [Jhamu Sughand died in May.]
What is Swapner Din all about?
You see all of us want to reach somewhere in life. We all make small decisions. The film revolves around the small things of life. It’s about Paresh (Prosenjit), who travels from one village to another.... It’s also about Chapal (Rajesh Sharma), a jeep driver who wants to go to Dubai on a forged passport, and about Amina (Rimii Sen), who wants to return to her hometown in Bangladesh.
Why did you cast Prosenjit in the lead role?
I don’t believe in differentiating between commercial and non-commercial actors. That’s totally wrong. An actor must be able to do all kinds of films. Besides, Prosenjit does justice to his role when he is offered a sensible script. He has years of experience. And be it Madhuri Dixit, Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bachchan, as actors they all want to do films or roles that they will be remembered for.
Will Prosenjit be remembered for Swapner Din?
Well, he is wonderful in the film. I motivated him. I do my best to motivate my actors. I told Prosenjit to try to give his best... to break his pattern of acting and do something different. I asked him to do something which is not just interesting but will satisfy the director and the audience as well. He is intelligent enough to understand and he has done a brilliant job.
Your actors did a workshop with Sohag Sen, which is unlike the way you work...
Yes, at that time I was too preoccupied. So I asked Sohag to do the workshop. Then I held another workshop. Workshops help actors with basic things like walking, talking and standing. Plus, I guide them on the sets where I am the boss and I don’t allow anybody else to talk.
