Picture by Anindya Shankar Ray

Fresh from his Scotland vacation, Shaheb ‘Topshe’ Bhattacherjee is all geared up for the release of his second Feluda film as Topshe. A t2 chat…

Were there any areas you felt you needed to correct while working on your second Feluda film?

Since this is my second film, I can now confidently say that in Gorosthanay Sabdhaan I had done nothing from my end to portray Topshe. I went to the shoot with a blank head. There from the inputs that Sandip Sir gave and with Benuda’s help, I tried to play the part. I was like a blank page and the director wrote what he wanted to write on it.

After Gorosthanay Sabdhaan released, I got people’s reactions... they said this could be added to Topshe’s character or that was missing. Topshe looked very tense in certain portions and too much of a novice in others. So, the idea was to put them in proportion. Topshe’s main task is to underline the main bits of what Feluda is saying. I asked Sandip Sir that could Topshe give this kind of an expression? And he saw that on the monitor and if he liked it, he put that in the take.

I never thought that I was making a mistake while portraying Topshe. Tahole Bangali dorshok amake khomai korto na (then the Bengali audience wouldn’t have forgiven me). The fact that they accepted me in the first film was a huge confidence booster.

Was shooting for RBR more thrilling than Gorosthanay as you had to shoot in the forests?

Yeah, it was! Places where we have shot, forget about shooting, even tourists are not allowed there! But since this is a Sandip Ray film and Benuda was associated with the forest department, we could shoot in remote locations and the core areas of north Bengal. And I can tell you that there is a real tiger in the film! I was not scared. That was Bibhu (Bhattacharya) jethu’s department! All the time he was petrified that I would be playing a prank... I will miss him. He has climbed trees, jumped off cars, run all over the forest. We feel like we have lost a family member.

In what ways would you say you have matured as Topshe?

I won’t say there’s a huge difference from the first film. As the days go by, you sink into a character more and more. I feel the casting of Topshe or Feluda or Lalmohanbabu is done when some of their characteristics are present in the actor already. That is why they have been cast in the first place. As far as I have heard, they cast me as Topshe because of the innocence on my face… there is a witty look and an innocent smile, though it is very deceptive!

How has being Topshe influenced your acting career?

There are two aspects to it. One is popularity... I have reached out to the masses and the classes at the same time. People used to know me as Shaheb before. Now they identify me with Topshe. That apart, the make-up rooms during the shoot were like acting schools with people like Biplab Chatterjee, Debesh Roy Chowdhury, Paran Bandopadhyay… not only how to act or behave, I also learnt how as an artiste you should approach life and the industry. There are some unsaid rules that you have to follow that no acting school can teach.

A very famous director had told me, ‘Be careful that you don’t get stamped as Topshe.’ That is the reason why I am not doing any random film. I am being very choosy, so that every character is different and people remember. That is why I am doing less work.

Sabyasachi Chakrabarty is wary that he would start looking like Felukaku instead of Feluda very soon. Do you think the age difference between you and Sabyasachi is very obvious? Sandip Ray is also mindful of it...

I don’t think so. As long as people accept it… and on the screen, the age difference doesn’t show... if Rajinikanth can be turned into a young hero. Besides, people still like Benuda as Feluda. Everyone is asking why will he not be doing Feluda anymore. When people ask me who will be the next Feluda, I cannot think of a name or a face other than his. It is a lot like the James Bond films. The generation before us has seen Sean Connery as James Bond and we have seen Pierce Brosnan as Bond. I’ve developed some kind of a mind block.

How would you rate Royal Bengal — better or as good as Sandip Ray’s other Feluda films?

It is a better film, any day. Every second and every minute, a person improves. And when it is Sandip Ray, you can expect the best. He has been nurturing Royal Bengal Rahasya for many years. And it has come out fabulous. The visuals, the camerawork, the casting… very nice. The senior actors have put in stellar performances. Kake chhere kake dekhbe! We juniors do not stand a chance. And the whole packaging… the forest, the locations, the tiger, the rifles….

Saionee Chakraborty
What do you think of the age gap between Sabyasachi and Shaheb as Feluda and Topshe? Tell t2@abp.in