Actors Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone at a Calcutta hotel on Saturday. Picture by Aranya Sen

Calcutta, Nov. 27: Mother Jaya had told Abhishek Bachchan “you better do a good job or I will beat you up,” when she learnt he was going to play Surya Sen in Ashutosh Gowariker’s screen adaptation of Do And Die, Manini Chatterjee’s book on the 1930 Chittagong uprising.

“Before that I was very excited but after she told that to me, I started feeling responsible. I am a half-Bengali and I know what a huge hero Surya Sen is here,” Abhishek told The Telegraph in Calcutta today. “In fact, I feel a bit nervous coming here to Bengal as Surya Sen,” he added.

It was a homecoming of a different kind for Abhishek and the rest of the main cast of Gowariker’s Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey team. This was the first time that the team had touched down on Bengal turf since shooting of “the very-Bengali Hindi film” began in Sawantwadi, near the Goa-Maharashtra border, late last year.

“While researching for the film I had come to Calcutta and even visited places like Santiniketan and Jorasanko to absorb the Bengali culture,” Gowariker said. “While the film is definitely for a pan-Indian audience, I am sure it will have an extra appeal for the Bengalis. We have tried to keep the Bengali ethos intact.”

Abhishek revealed that each member of the cast was given a copy of Do and Die and it was the book that helped them to go back eight decades and understand the importance of the Chittagong insurrection.

“That makes the film adaptation a must-watch because the nation needs to stand up and recognise Suryada,” the actor said, looking dapper in a white kurta-pyjama with a small Indian flag pinned to the kurta. “He should be spoken of in the same breath as the greats, as Bhagat Singhji, as Chandrashekharji.”

Besides Abhishek, Bollywood’s reigning glam queen Deepika Padukone was also in the city. Playing Kalpana Datta, one of the main revolutionaries in Surya’s team, the actress had to go completely deglam for the role.

“I think the look was the biggest challenge for me,” said Deepika. “It was not easy to go back to 1930 and make the character look convincing.”

Gowariker said it was the spirit which was the most important element of the film. “It was not about a single person but 64 people who were equally motivated for the country and planned the uprising in such detail,” he said.

After returning to Mumbai, Abhishek tweeted: “If you’re an actor and are ever feeling low, go to Calcutta! The people (there) will lift your spirits instantly!”