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Shaheb Bhattacherjee as Abhijit
Abhijit is Mrinalini’s first love in the late Seventies; a student who’s also a Naxalite. I am paired opposite Konkona, the young Mrinalini. Being a Naxalite, Abhijit knows that his relationship with Mrinalini will not go anywhere, so he never commits. One day when he and Mrinalini are about to make love, Abhijit gets arrested. Though my screen time is not more than 20 minutes, my character is mentioned throughout the film.
Iti Mrinalini is the first film I shot for — though (Sandip Ray’s) Gorosthanay Sabdhaan released first — and that’s why it’s very special. During the audition, Rinadi (Aparna) asked me to read out Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Smritir Shohor. She asked me not to shave or have a haircut till she got back to me. A few days later, I was told that I was in.
We did workshops before the shoot and I was extremely nervous on the first day of my workshop. I had to prove my worth to Rinadi and so I was a little loud. Then she explained what exactly she wanted from me and slowly I understood her technique. Besides, I was scared of acting opposite Konkona. I was bowled over by her performance in Omkara! She is a wonderful actress, and we became very comfortable.
But on the first day of the shoot, which was on Howrah bridge at 5 in the morning, I messed up! (Laughs.) Well, I sat in my vanity van, did my make-up and walked in. Rinadi said: ‘Eto make-up korechho keno!’ I said I had dark circles, so I just did a touch-up. What I couldn’t tell her was that I had those dark circles because the thought of acting in her film gave me sleepless nights!
She called the make-up artist and asked him to remove the paint and told me never to wear make-up again. Later on, she explained why she didn’t want make-up on me. It’s because the Naxalites had no rest, they worked all night and they didn’t shave, neither did they go for haircuts. So my dark circles were just in sync with my character!
Rajat Kapoor as Siddhartha Sarkar
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Siddhartha Sarkar is a filmmaker who has an affair with the young Mrinalini (played by Konkona). Though Mrinalini has many men in her life, “Siddhartha is the man in her life,” Rajat had told t2 while shooting for the film in Calcutta. But as Siddhartha is married, there are several ups and downs in the relationship.
Koushik Sen as Chintan Nair
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I play Chintan Nair, a renowned author from south India. He can speak Bangla but his accent isn’t proper. Chintan is very successful and totally different from the other men in Mrinalini’s life. He gives Mrinalini a lot of space and he remains her true friend. Interestingly, Chintan is married; his wife is physically challenged (played by newcomer Pooja). Chintan is extremely responsible towards his wife. He isn’t judgmental at all. He is a very compassionate human being, an idealist.
Chintan enters Mrinalini’s life at a point when she is on a professional high but her personal life is topsy-turvy. She is in an affair with Siddhartha, a filmmaker (Rajat Kapoor), and the relationship is somewhat strained. Chintan’s reference is there throughout the film, though he is not seen till the end.
Priyanshu Chatterjee as Imtiaz Chowdhury
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Imtiaz is a ruthless, ambitious man who always gets his way. He is a film student, basically from Calcutta but then he’s studied in New York. His debut film was a success and now he wants to make a second film and cast Mrinalini, a famous actress. Imtiaz falls for the older Mrinalini, played by Rinadi (Aparna). But their relationship slowly gets strained. There’s conflict over something that I cannot reveal!
Imtiaz and Mrinalini have a very intimate relationship. They bond over work, they share the same ideas and are passionate about films. And their professional bond soon takes a personal shape. They are really drawn to each other.
Playing Imtiaz was like exploring another side of me. I am so not like Imtiaz. He is a go-getter, while I am pretty laid-back! Imtiaz is a lot like many directors in bits and pieces, yet he is unique in his own way. It was a wonderful experience to work with Rinadi and also to be directed by her.
Debojyoti Mishra on recreating the music of the Seventies in Iti Mrinalini...
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Before composing the music, Rinadi and I discussed how to go about it. She gave me a few references of songs from the Seventies, but she also wanted the soundtrack to be contemporary because Iti Mrinalini spans from the Seventies to the present.
Since I have worked under Salil Chowdhury, composing for Iti Mrinalini was easy. But I was more inclined towards Sudhin Dasgupta’s compositions. I used most of the musical instruments that were used in the Seventies, like the whistle, mandolin and Hawaiian guitar.
Shreya Ghoshal has playbacked for Ajana kon galpo. For homework, I had asked Shreya to listen to a lot of Arati Mukherjee songs. Ajana kon galpo is a lot like the songs in Prothom Kadam Phool (starring Soumitra Chatterjee and Tanuja) and the track Ke tumi Nandini (Teen Bhubaner Paare).
Bishe bishe nil, also sung by Shreya, is very peppy and fast. It’s like the bar songs of the Seventies. So I have used trumpets, saxophone, brass and horn, all of which the Anglo-Indian musicians would play at that time in the Calcutta bars. Even though the songs replicate the Seventies, they are very modern.
Smritir shohor again is very Seventies, very Salil Chowdhury. Srikanta Acharya has sung it beautifully.
The background score has philharmonic orchestra. It’s grand, haunting and gloomy at times.
As told to Kushali Nag
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