ARIJIT DUTTA plays ltf lieutenant mallaya

Two releases (Madras Cafe and Tasher Desh) on the same Friday. The biggest of stars don’t enjoy such a luxury. How did it feel?

It felt just great, though it was just a coincidence. But the two films are of different genres, different languages and by two directors of such calibre, and that does give a warm glow to the heart. The added advantage of having Priya and Bioscope (Rajarhat and Durgapur) adds that extra bit of pleasure to be able to screen them as well. Of course, I am also distributing Tasher Desh. It is just one of those days when you are talked about a little more than usual!

How many films have you actually appeared in?

I think I have 30-plus releases already. Most of them are in Bengali and a couple in English (Chowrasta by Anjan Dutt and Sugar Baby by Trisha Ray). Besides Madras Cafe, I have another Hindi film due for release — Gaurav Pandey’s Spaghetti 24x7. For me, acting was always like a hobby but now it seems to be getting serious. As life changes, you like to experiment with a few things and this seems to be favouring me. I take life as it comes.

How did it all start?

The first one was Abar Aranye, where Goutamda (Ghose) literally bulldozed me into acting. The location being north Bengal, my absolute favourite, I took it more as a holiday and went ahead with it. Since then I have tried out different scripts and characters and I have enjoyed doing them.

There is a saying in the industry that directors cast you in their films to get a good release and good show timings at Priya!

I don’t really think Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose, Gaurav Pandey, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, the late Rituparno Ghosh, Anjan Dutt, Q or Shoojit Sircar have to be worried about getting a proper release at all. Trisha’s Sugar Baby was an Ameican production and wasn’t meant for an Indian release. There will always be doubters and detractors but I don’t think any director would compromise his or her film by force-casting me.

What was it like shooting with a Bollywood director like Shoojit Sircar vis-a-vis Bengali filmmakers?

Not much difference at all. I would say a director is a director. Whatever be the language. Just that the shooting unit was bigger, the co-ordination was a little sleeker. For me Kochi was an exotic location to shoot at. Where dedication and commitments are concerned I would say all the directors hold their own grounds.

Did you know your voice would be dubbed in Madras Cafe?

No, initially I didn’t know that but when no dubbing dates were asked for I realised that someone else would dub on my behalf. Yes, I did ask Shoojitda but a director knows what is best for the film. So, no complaints at all whatsoever. In the past I have always dubbed for myself and in some cases dubbed for others as well.

What was the brief from Q for your role of Raja in Tasher Desh?

Q never briefed me! All I was told was that I play the role of a warrior prince over whom my queens would be fighting. Of course, I never realised at that point of time that Q would be interpreting, positioning and presenting Tasher Desh the way everyone is seeing it today. It was fun but a little disconcerting.

Are your Tollywood friends taking you seriously as an actor now?

Doubt it, as yesterday I was told ‘Dadul, being a non-actor you did surprisingly well and your screen presence was very good.’ This comes from a very senior mainstream actor who also thought he should give me some tips for further enhancement of my acting skills. (Laughs out loud) But as friends most are always supportive.

Shoojit Sircar told us that after Madras Cafe, Dadulda would be much sought after in Bollywood. Will you make an effort to reach out to directors there?

Let’s hope for the best. Yes, Shoojitda himself had hinted at one (nothing concrete though). I myself have not made any effort to reach out to anybody else as yet. Only time will tell. I did receive a couple of calls from Mumbai but there’s really no point saying anything until things get more precise. Ideally I would love to do more films in different languages in the near future.

Do you have a dream role?

I would love to do a character like Amitji (Bachchan) in Agneepath, paying extra cognisance to my voice. However, fortunately or unfortunately, I get more feelers for negative characters and corporate head honchos. So, either I get crude or polished, nothing in between!

What has been the reaction at home to your Friday films?

Mom is not bothered! My wife is extremely sceptical and has always made it a point never to watch a film with me in it. Though this time after Madras Cafe there seems to be a slight softening of the stand. My sister thankfully is appreciative but extremely critical.

What’s next for Arijit Dutta the actor? A Raja Sen film, a Telugu film’s remake in Bengali starting in September and a film with Rajkumar Yadav in Bengali.

MASTERMIND SIDDHARTHA BASU plays R&AW CHIEF ROBIN DUTT

You’re getting rave reviews for your performance as RD. Share with us your theatre background...

My theatre antecedents go back to school. I’ve always enjoyed it. I was most active in college. In St. Stephen’s there was a huge amount of interest. In our second year, the drama society had a director from outside and that was Barry John. We did something called The Disorderly Women and it was a contemporary version of a Greek myth with a rock band and bikes coming on stage, psychedelia and tripping. Then we also did a version of Hamlet. Out of that a group was born the Theatre Action Group (TAG), which did a lot of really experimental and avant garde work in English theatre for a number of years. The best-known face from TAG was Shah Rukh (Khan) who came in as a kid 10 years down the line. One would have loved to have made a life out of theatre if there was a semblance of a living in it. Which sadly there wasn’t and still isn’t.

Your last play with TAG was in 1984 and then you did Dance Like A Man in the mid-1990s with Lillete Dubey’s group and now after all these years you are acting again. Didn’t you feel rusty?

No, not really. I have been a compulsive mimic, a performer... I’m a nautanki, actually! And naturally so. I enjoy performance. I don’t enjoy watching myself so much. I have never enjoyed watching myself on television. But I enjoy being part of an acting set-up, especially theatre. It was lovely with Shoojit because he did it so fluidly, in a guerrilla style, even though there was clearly a plot. And we were improvising all the time.

How did the connection with Shoojit happen?

Shoojit began his career with us (at Synergy). The first few years, he did a number of shows with us. In fact, in the first schedule of KBC, he was calling the shots. I was using him as an online director. I have always found him to be one of the most gifted guys around. He’s intuitively very audio-visual and in his sense of realism, he manages to create drama and lyricism.

Could you use your vast theatre experience in your Madras Cafe performance?

In the sense, it absolutely helped me in subconsciously trying to figure out what it is. That’s what you do while preparing a character. There’s this guy who is in the intelligence wing trying to find out things, figuring out both overt and covert operations to tackle the gruesome civil war in Sri Lanka. But at the end of the day he is a bureaucrat and that’s how things work in India. So he is caught in this web and is constantly trying to devise ways out of it.

Did Anurag Kashyap cast you in Bombay Velvet after Madras Cafe?

No. He said he had no clue I was doing Madras Cafe. He had also worked with Barry in Delhi. We have a few mutual friends but we haven’t really known each other. But I am aware of his work and I think he has done remarkable work for the indie cinema movement. He also just called me one day and said that there’s a part for you. I play this barrister who is like a kingmaker.

The offers will pour in now for sure. Is it the start of an acting innings for Siddhartha Basu?

I am not thinking of a career as an actor, I can assure you. These two films will be separated by a year apart. Bombay Velvet’s not coming before mid next year.

PDG

AD GURU PIYUSH PANDEY plays the CABINET SECRETARY

It’s always a good experience to work with someone who’s making something that he strongly believes in and which you know will be made with the best intentions. I always knew Madras Cafe would turn out to be a film different from all others that we see today. It’s a well-thought-out thriller with information that probably the new generation hasn’t ever heard of. What I liked about it is that this information is not conveyed in documentary style, but entertainingly told.

When Shoojit came to me with the role, I initially laughed at him! I was like: ‘Are you out of your mind?’ (Laughs) He’s a very dear friend and I knew he wouldn’t give me a role that would make me look stupid (laughs). I did ask Shoojit why he chose me for the role and his response was that he wanted someone who looked like a bureaucrat. Needless to say, I was flattered!

While shooting, I thought I would be nervous, but I actually had a ball! Shoojit explained my scenes and I just plunged right into it. I was quite surprised that I managed without any goof-ups. What worked for me was that this was a film that had a lot of non-actors like me — Siddhartha Basu, Agnello Dias, Dibang…. They are all intelligent people who I knew would always be part of a meaningful project.

The feedback has so far been good, but friends will always say good things. What they are saying behind my back to their families, I don’t really know! I have been asked whether I will act in more films, but I would like to believe that Madras Cafe is a one-off, something that I did for a friend.

TV journalist Dibang plays a R&AW agent

Mine is a very short role, but it’s been noticed. Most people have told me that they liked the fact that I wasn’t loud and over-the-top. I think all the credit for that should go to Shoojit Sircar.

This isn’t my first brush with acting, though. Many years ago, I was offered a film by Malayalam director Jayaraj. I also acted in the film Choli Ke Peeche based on Mahasweta Devi’s short story and directed by Italo Spinelli in which I played a reporter.

What really attracted me to Madras Cafe was Shoojit and John’s (Abraham) guts to take up a subject like this. The moment I was told that this was about the LTTE and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, I knew I wanted to be part of the film. I have covered the Gujarat riots and the Nepal royal family carnage and for a journalist, it’s always interesting to be a part of a film closely related to reality. But I did not pitch in with any journalistic inputs because Shoojit already had the script locked.

For my part of a R&AW agent who helps John’s character (Vikram) with important documents, I shot in Bangkok for four days. I wasn’t really nervous, but I found it a little difficult to remember my long dialogues. It was an experience that I will cherish because Madras Cafe is a film that is so daring and gutsy.

(As told to Priyanka Roy)

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