Filmmaker Srijit Mukherji is busy with the post-production work of his first Hindi film, Begum Jaan, starring Vidya Balan and Naseeruddin Shah, in Mumbai. [Yes, he took the plunge from Bay of Bengal to Arabian Sea in February.] “My first-day shoot for Begum Jaan involved Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan, Asha Bhosle (with her song playing in the background)… I couldn’t have asked for more. Naseer is actually two different persons with the camera on and the camera off. In every second or third take he kept on adding little nuances. He has given such excellent variations that I know I’ll go crazy in the edit trying to figure out what to keep,” says Srijit over phone.

Days before he left for Mumbai, t2  caught up with the Chotushkone director in the Rollick parlour at India’s Hobby Centre over some icy scoops of joy. “Daab Malai and Rabri Malai, one scoop each in a chocolate & nut ice cream cone. I have a weakness for slightly creamy flavours and nuts… Blind Love, Walnut Fudge,” he smiles. 

If you take a trip down Park Street memory lane, which are the names that immediately come to mind?  
There is this concept of Horcrux in Harry Potter, where you divide your soul into little pieces and put it into objects. Park Street is a Horcrux for me, it contains a little bit of my soul. I have zillions of memories in places like Oasis, Mocambo, Waldorf, India’s Hobby Centre.... I would go to Hobby Centre with my parents and pick up the latest toy… I had my first steak at Oly Pub as a kid with my father.    

You have been living in Mumbai for the past couple of months. Have you warmed to the place yet?
Certain aspects of the city have come to the front since I started living and working there. It’s just like getting to know an interesting person. I am getting to know the roads, the hang-outs... I am checking out the food. That adventure is exciting. However, Bombay is not the place for biryani! Apart from that there are a whole lot of fantastic eating places like Mamagoto, Out of the Blue, Olive and lots of old-world cafes like The Birdsong Cafe, Candies. I am staying in Bandra now in a complex that is bang opposite Karan Johar’s house.

I build memories very fast. I think I have proper gypsy blood. When I am away from Calcutta, I miss the city. But I have also started missing Bombay when I am in Calcutta. Bombay means work, work, and only work.… There is an office (of Vishesh Films), a room, a cubicle. An entire floor has been dedicated for the pre-production and post-production of this film. I have a cabin over there. I am working in movies, and yet I am in office by 10am! I have a chauffeur-driven car 24x7. Of course Bombay is an exciting place in terms of exposure, opportunities… you get to meet incredibly creative people. It’s a big stage. There is a method to the madness which I enjoy. Bombay combines the best of Bangalore and Calcutta. It gives you the creative freedom of Calcutta in the corporate structure of Bangalore. In the last few months I have got to know the technicians, actors, have revisited old friends, and made new friends. 

What’s for lunch in office?!
The office people have lunch together. Mahesh Bhatt, Mukesh Bhatt, everyone comes together for lunch on the fourth floor. Lunch is vegetarian... delicious. There is dal, paneer, mushroom, dosa...

So is it adieu Calcutta?
My road map is simple. There is no adieu happening, unfortunately (smiles). A lot of people might be wishing for one but I have a message for my well-wishers: I am not going off in a hurry! I am going to have a twin establishment, and Hindi is just one more language for me to tell my stories in as an option. There are certain stories that can only be told in Bangla, like Kakababu. There are certain stories that can be told in Hindi in terms of scale… there are certain stories in terms of the scale or the infrastructure that the Bengali market can’t afford right now. So I am taking those leaps of faith and flights of fantasy. 

Once you have got the taste of Mumbai and Hindi movies, isn’t there this urge to stay on?
At the end of the day I have always made films for myself. The audience have showered me with so much love, honour. But if I want to do a film in Bangla I’ll do a film in Bangla. Because it is also about my experience. Now I have one more option in telling a story. I will actively try to make films in English. I am in talks with Amitav Ghosh for The Calcutta Chromosome. I am also interested in his Shadow Lines and Salman Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh.

Amitav Ghosh’s stories resonate with you because…
Of the incredible straddling of milieus. He touches a part of my childhood and makes me aware of my past… and also the combined past of so many cultures and different worlds. He is a fantastic storyteller, the way he weaves various threads into one and then unfurls it and then ties it up again. He is superb... I’m a huge fan. He is aware of my Autograph, 22shey Srabon, Mishawr Rawhoshyo and Jaatishwar.

Coming to Begum Jaan (an adaptation of Srijit’s Bengali film Rajkahini), how does it feel to do the same film twice?
I had met Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and  he asked me, ‘How can you remake your own picture? I’ll go crazy if someone told me to remake Bajirao Mastani once again.’ And then I explained to him that Begum Jaan is a new film that is loosely based on Rajkahini with a different milieu and language and cast so that I feel the same enthusiasm and energy. So when I am working with Naseer or Vidya it is enriching me. 

Why start the shoot of Begum Jaan with Vidya and Naseeruddin? Was it intentional? 
Yeah, you start with the toughest. And I believe in baptism by fire. After working in Ishqiya and The Dirty Picture, Vidya and Naseer have developed a tremendous chemistry. With Naseer, you have to be at your sharpest best. And be attentive and focused. Once the shot gets over, he is telling stories, talking about Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani, adda marchhen.

Vidya is effortless. And she has a natural presence and charisma that lights up the screen. She is so cool, and always ready. She is easily one of the best people I have worked with. While shooting I realised how production-friendly she is. She is an incredible team player. Vidya also gave a lot of important suggestions. I was lucky to have Vidya in my first Hindi film.  She involves herself so much with the entire production process that you don’t face the problems that you might face as a first-timer in Bollywood. She gave fantastic advice in terms of casting, production. 

Begum Jaan also stars Pallavi Sharda, Gauahar Khan, Flora Saini among others. Was it like a dream- come-true situation for you to be surrounded by so many women?! 
It was nice. Surreal but nice (smiles). Each time it was a fascinating experience. It’s not like I was trying to fill up some lacunae in the range of stories I was telling, I just felt that Rajkahini/ Begum Jaan required this onslaught of feminine power. The Begum Jaan shoot was one of the toughest, with the unpredictable weather. And things got tougher on the sets. The number of snakes and scorpions on the sets exponentially increased. People started falling sick… it was a very accident-prone shoot. Every one had a problem with their foot. My line producer, chief assistant director, me, some of the girls… an AD of mine had a hairline fracture in his leg. There was twisting or spraining throughout.

And the snakes... when did they make an appearance?
The snakes came between shots and I caught them! I picked them up by the tail and the mouth. They were not poisonous. I have a huge interest in snakes. I genuinely feel I can speak Parseltongue (chuckles)! I know which are poisonous and which are not. Anyway, after a tryst with mankind or certain specimens of the human species I feel snakes are much better, simpler, much more beautiful and much less dangerous. I caught them, put them inside a jar and released them in a wild place.

Vidya refused to come out of the vanity van for the next one hour! I just wanted the snake to say ‘hi’ to Vidya. She saw me with the snake and went inside the vanity van, locked herself in for an hour and didn’t come out until pictures were shown of me not carrying the snakes.          

During the shoot Vidya had told us she was “hoping to go to Banalakshmi” in Santiniketan. How was the Banalakshmi experience?
The food there is unbelievable. And the girls went fida over the food. There were six-seven kinds of veg dishes prepared for Vidya. There was Chhana Bhaape, Potoler Dorma, Dhokar Dalna, Shukto, Mocha…. Everything is homemade. Vidya bought 10kg of ghee. I gifted her two bottles of ghee. If I am in Bolpur, chances are I’ll be in Banalakshmi. The Mutton Kosha, which is halka jhal-halka mishti, is to die for, and the Pabda Maachh is also very good. 

Arindam Chatterjee
Which is your fave Srijit film and why? Tell t2@abp.in