Q: How is it working with Buddhadeb Dasgupta?

Immensely satisfying. I always knew Kaalpurush would be a process of deconstruction for me as an actor. It?s at a pitch and tempo I haven?t done before. The closest I?ve come to it was in Dev Benegal?s English, August. There?s the same languorous unfolding of the character. No outward action seems to happen. Both Kaalpurush and English, August is more about the character?s journey. In terms of the character?s body and rhythm patterns I had to undergo a lot of un-training. Aside from being Bengali there are so many physical details to be got right. When the guy gets up from his seat to meet his boss, he always tucks in his shirt ? a typical middle-class gesture. Or the use of the handkerchief when he comes to work?.

Q: How?s your Bengali now?

Do I speak perfect Bengali? No one does. The cadences, variations and tempo of the language vary in every social stratum. I knew the language. But speaking it fluently was another matter. I had to sit and study the cadences. I make someone from the unit say my lines so that they settle in my head. Buddhadeb?s prime preoccupation is the cinema of the moment. He can change the dialogues on the spot if it adds to the contemporary feel. Kaalpurush is more interior-oriented than Buddhadeb?s other films. Parts are shot in Bhubaneswar. But this is his most claustrophobic work to date. Hey, I also got to sit on a tram! A ?moving? experience, ha-ha. It?s such a great way of seeing in Calcutta. We complete the film on December 15.

Q: And Sameera Reddy?

She?s focused, hardworking and easy to get along with. But all my intense scenes are with Mithun Chakraborty, who plays my father. I actually saw him approach his role in a way that totally repudiated his star image.

Q: Your next release is the striking White Noise?

Yes, on January 14. And here again, the leading lady takes centrestage. I consider it my third in my ?passive? trilogy. In Mr & Mrs Iyer and Chameli, I played the strong silent supportive male. And yet I saw them as two different people with two different lives. So I succeeded as an actor. In White Noise my character, Karan, has the maximum subterranean torment. The other two were relatively less troubled. But Karan is pretty messed-up in the head. The biggest challenge for me was ? why would my character be attracted to a woman who?s a psychotic alcoholic wreck? I had to give the character some heft. But what really makes White Noise interesting is the female protagonist. A character like her hasn?t been attempted before in our films.

Q: What was it like working with your ex-girlfriend?

Koel Purie and I were together four years ago. The millennium has changed since we broke up. So has the equation between us. You know the person well. That helps us in creating a relationship on screen.