Nandana shoots for Autograph on the hanging bridge in the Dhakuria Lakes on Sunday. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

In town to shoot for first-time director Srijit Mukherjee’s Autograph, produced by Shree Venkatesh Films, Nandana Sen tells t2 about the roles she plays in the film co-starring her “crush” Prosenjit, and Indraneil Sengupta...

What do you play in Autograph?

I play two characters in Autograph, both equally intriguing — one of the many things that makes working on this film really fun! The characters are very different from each other.... Sreenandita is a just-graduated theatre actor who is feisty, girlish, pure at heart and at the same time very confident. She’s extremely spontaneous, carefree and natural, in look as well as behaviour. Jahnabi is all woman, sharp-witted and quick-tongued, much more sophisticated and unlike Sreenandita, who’s unaware of her own appeal. Jahnabi knows the power she has as a woman and she uses it. But the core they share is that both are deeply idealistic and forthright, both would stand by their beliefs at any cost.

What prompted you to take up this film?

It all started almost two years ago, over coffee in Bangalore with my phenomenally talented friend Srijit. While we were talking about our favourite films both of us said Nayak in the same breath, and Srijit came up with this idea which I loved. We developed the story together over four different places — Bangalore, Santiniketan, Mumbai and Calcutta.

How did Prosenjit come on board?

I had never met him before. But I messaged him, introducing myself and telling him I wanted to discuss a film with him. He was truly warm, he immediately replied and we had a long chat on the phone. I was coming to Calcutta for my mother’s birthday, so I met up with him and told him the story, which he really loved! I set up a meeting with him and Srijit, and they got along famously. Bumbada (Prosenjit) is the only one who can play the superstar’s part in our film. It was written with him in mind and in a way, it’s because of him that the film is actually happening. I’ve grown up seeing his films and there is one thing that I do share with Sreenandita, who admits she used to have a huge crush on the star (the character played by Prosenjit)!

There’s a buzz that Autograph is a modern version of Nayak...

It’s not a remake of Nayak and I can say that very clearly. But yes, it does have a strong connection with Nayak and is inspired by it. In a way, you can call Autograph a tribute to Nayak, but a remake it most certainly is not.

Is there a strain of Sharmila Tagore’s character in Nayak in the roles you’re playing?

Well, I suppose you can say it is a re-interpretation of her character.

Are you trying to emulate Nayak’s Sharmila?

No, not at all. I believe as an actor you may be inspired by the greats, but must never emulate them. It actually turns out that Sharmila Tagore has always been a kind of a muse, or you can say role-model, for me. Sharmila Tagore, Smita Patil and Waheeda Rehman are three actresses I’ve been deeply inspired by. But if as actors we emulate our favourites (or even ourselves, in film after film), it actually gets in the way of becoming the character we’re playing. I’ve always loved the character of Aditi and Sharmiladi’s portrayal in Nayak. There are definite elements in the character that inspire me in Autograph but that’s more at a spirit level than literal.

How are you preparing?

It’s a wonderful experience doing workshops with Sohagdi (Sen), who is simply amazing as an actor, director and human being. Coming from a theatre background I love and really miss extensive rehearsals and workshops. For me, this process of discovery is the high point of being an actor. I’ve done workshops for several of my international films, but for Hindi films we don’t usually go through this process. I’m delighted that it’s more frequent in Calcutta!

Any other film you are doing?

I’m in the middle of an English film, which I have to finish shooting in New York. It’s called Good Morning Good Night. There’s an Italian film to be shot in South Africa, and two Hindi films scheduled for later this year.

And what are your forthcoming releases?

Four of my films are ready for release. Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya is a politically charged historical romance exploring censorship of art. I loved playing Raja Ravi Varma’s angelic muse and real-life love, a pathbreakingly courageous woman who also became a style icon, the original, if accidental, Indian pin-up girl. As much as I fell in love with Sugandha, I also wanted the challenge of playing a character as diametrically opposed to a 19th century devdasi as one could imagine. So I decided to do Prince, my next release, in which I play an indefatigable undercover cop who jumps from skyscraper to skyscraper on a flaming motorbike, shoots straight from the hip, and knocks men out with kicks and bullets — in between romancing Viveik Oberoi. And in Anubhav Sinha’s political satire Zindabad, you’ll see me as an idealistic young TV reporter, fresh out of college, who questions the integrity of the entire political system, while in Ashvin Kumar’s American thriller The Forest, I play the tough-talking, rifle-wielding, but tender-hearted protagonist — stalked by two men and a leopard!

Yes, these characters are totally distinct from each other, except, coincidentally, they all have one thing in common. All four are unstoppably fearless women who break the rules of their world to achieve what they must.