Portraits of screen icons and Bollywood posters on the walls, myriad flavours on the menu and a Tollywood team letting its hair down after the wrap-up of their film.... the cast and crew of Samantaral dug into Balam Puchkari, Papdi Chaat V 2.0, Chicken Potli Kebab, Gabbar Ghotala, Jai Thalaiva and Makkhan Singh’s Butter Chicken at Gabbar’s Bar & Kitchen (at the junction of Ho Chi Minh Sarani and Little Russell Street) recently.
Directed by Partha Chakraborty, Samantaral stars Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Tonushree, Riddhi Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee. Produced by Happycrowd Films, the psychological drama revolves around a family, with Soumitra Chatterjee’s retired professor Akhilesh, and his three sons played by Kushal Chakraborty, Param and Anindya Banerjee. While Aparajita Adhya and Tonushree play Kushal and Anindya’s wives respectively, Param’s Sujan sticks out. “Sujan’s nephew Arka (played by Riddhi) befriends him and in the process tries to discover this man,” said Parambrata. Partha explained Sujan as “an artiste, who keeps to himself”.
How do you chill on your day off?
Param: I watch movies. Recently I was blown away by the film Captain Fantastic. It’s about a father raising his six children in a very different way.
Tonushree: I watch movies, read scripts and plan vacations.
A TV show you binge-watched?
Param: Black Mirror. I started with Season 1, then 3 and finally watched 2. A critique of development is really important… the more you progress as a race the more you need to be critical of it. The show is critical of the habits we are developing these days.
Tonushree: The Affair.
A celeb you are crushing on?
Param: Shailene Woodley... she has this intellectual charm. She is also an activist… I would like to meet her, and have a chat with her. Also, I find Priyanka Chopra incredibly sexy.
Tonushree: Ryan Gosling, he is so romantic.
A celebrity you would like to entertain at home?
Param: Aamir Khan. The fact that he has stayed away from the murk of the industry and yet every time he comes back so big that the others are shadowed. And without making any noise about it. There is a very strong statement he makes... that you don’t need the glitz and glamour… you can tell very simple, humane stories and still make 500 crore. I would like to bring him home, offer him a drink, food and pick his brain.
Tonushree: Aamir Khan, he comes across as very simple and down to earth and I would love to invite him to my house.
Your secret talent?
Param: I’m a very good team leader in production situations.
Tonushree: I can correctly imagine the essence of a place that I have not been to.
What makes you lose your cool?
Param: Lackadaisical, laid-back attitude and not having a zealous bone.
Tonushree: If something is not done in a proper way, or if someone is hurting someone without any reason.
Arindam Chatterjee. Pictures: Rashbehari Das
