Tribal Woman

Sohini Paul is excited about her lead role in Milan Bhowmick’s Ami Toto — a film on the Toto tribes of north Bengal.

“I play Thaima, a tribal woman. We’ve just finished shooting a major portion in Siliguri and will head to Bhutan in a couple of weeks for the rest of the film,” said Sohini. Ami Toto also stars Sohini’s actor father and MLA Tapas Pal in a significant role. “Unlike my last film, Ogo Bideshini, I don’t share screen space with my dad in Ami Toto. Both of us belong to different generations in the film,” she adds.

Though Ami Toto has an unusual theme, Sohini agreed to do it because she liked the script. “It deals with such a complex subject, yet the script is extremely compact and I didn’t want to let go of this opportunity of working with Milanda (director)”, smiled Sohini.

But why do we see so little of her on the big screen?

“I can’t do all types of films. I’m a little choosy. So it takes time. I need to like the script, the narration should be proper and I should have dates to accept a film. All this is not always possible. Plus, a few of my films have been delayed because of technical problems which have pushed back their release,” she explained.

But Sohini is quite happy with the way her career is shaping up. “I want to take things easy. When I’m not working, I like listening to music or watching television. I also catch up with my friends. Besides, I am offered different kinds of roles. That is exactly why I played the Anglo-Indian girl in Bow Barracks Forever and did a romantic role but not the conventional kind in Ogo Bideshini. Even in Ami Toto, I play a very different character. When I choose a film I want to see how my character is contributing to the entire film,” she said.

Next in the pipeline is Anayitik, directed by Susanta Mukherjee, where Sohini plays a professor.