It started with a phone call, from film-maker Arjunn Dutta and soon Trina Saha found herself shooting for Arjunn’s film Shrimati, starring Swastika Mukherjee, Trina and Soham. “I had seen Arjunn’s Guldasta and Abyakta, which I loved. The script and the music was fantastic. Arjunn has this immense passion towards his work. And he knows what he wants. He told me about my character. At that time I wanted to do good characters for which people will remember me. And it’ll be different from what I was doing earlier,” smiles Trina. The Telegraph chat...
Tell us about your character in Shrimati?
She is a very today’s character. Brishti stands for what’s right. She supports her boudi (played by Swastika) a lot, and she stands for the truth... she feels her boudi has a lot of potential but it is not acknowledged by others around her. You’ll see many people like her in our families, and often her contribution to the family goes unnoticed. Their work doesn’t get acknowledged. Brishti is an architect, she is very passionate about her work. She is very ambitious. But on the other hand she is quite simple. Brishti feels if you cannot respect yourself, why will others respect you? To some extent, I can relate to my character.
The film is a shout-out to homemakers.
They should get their due, absolutely. They have the most difficult job. We are all working, either for money, fame or acknowledgement. But why does your mother work at home? No one can answer that. She works only because of love and responsibility. The least people can do is acknowledge their work and thank them. Ask if they need anything. Do they need some help? Are they feeling okay? What do they want? Do they want to eat anything special? Please be sensitive towards homemakers and take care of them. Take care of the small things at least. In the film, my boudi does everything for her family but at the end of the day, no one is there to ask her the basics like, ‘Have you had breakfast yet?’, or ‘What do you feel like having?’ It is a must-watch film for everyone. The takeaways are self-respect and self-love for women.
For you Trina, after marriage, who takes care of what at home? Do you have shared duties?
In our family, everyone is a working member, so everyone respects each other’s work. And we have shared duties at home. We have two amazing chefs at home. My shoshur (father-in-law) is the head chef and I am the assistant chef. We love to cook and we make good food. Neel is the food-taster. This is the division of work. During lockdown Neel had the responsibility of washing the dishes. And he had taken this responsibility upon himself. But he would wash the dishes in his own time. When we finished lunch at 2pm, he would wash the dishes either at 4pm or 8pm. He’d wash it, but no one knew when. My shoshur’s speciality is making mutton dishes.
Both you and Neel are extremely popular on social media. Both of you innovate a lot when it comes to making reels...
It’s a part of my job. Lots of brands approach us to make reels for endorsements. Neel initiated me into making reels. Initially I was not a social media person. I had my set of four-five friends. With time, I realised the audiences were connecting to our videos. Now, I love what I do. And I do what I love. Social media is for my audience. It is a public forum. It has nothing to do with my personal life. People love to see my dance videos. I want to do something for the people, which they can connect with. I look like I’m an extrovert but I am not one.... I like to keep things to myself. People can rely on me with their secrets.
What happens when certain things bother you?
I keep it to myself... 90 per cent of it.
Why is that?
With time, this has happened. I had a lot of people around me, from different sectors and cultures. I realised people change every day... depends on the environment and the ambience. Maybe you won’t understand it then. I may share something with someone, but I don’t know how that person will take it. Will they take it the way you meant it or will they interpret it in their own way and come up with a different set of thoughts based on their own understanding of life and perspective? That’s really difficult to understand.
Is it tough to have friends from the industry?
I don’t have friends from the industry. I am very friendly with everyone. They are colleagues or industry friends... but not close friends. I have a very limited number of close friends, friends from school and college. They have always been there with me, for me. It is easy to make friends but tough to fulfill the true meaning of friendship... it has its highs and lows. Even in your workplace, equations change every day. From my past experience I have learnt something... work should not come home and your home should not go to work. After a couple of years in the industry I thoroughly maintain this.
When did you feel it was the right time to make a transition from serials to films?
When directors started offering me film roles! It is also about growing as an actor. Initially, I started as an observer, and then as an assistant director... my first film was Aparna Sen’s Arshinagar and then I was an assistant in Srijit Mukherji’s Zulfiqar. I always wanted to be a director. I still want to be a director. I got the offer to star in (serial) Khokababu while working on Zulfiqar. Then I got to know about look set and screen test.
How do you see this success and fame?
I am not self-satisfied. I would love to grow... I would love to do a Kahaani or a Piku or a Challenge or a Shwet Patharer Thala or a Mitin Mashi. When I see Koeldi (Mallick), I know she is tremendous. She is very good. I was an assistant on one of her films. The roles that I am getting in films is because of my work for six years in the television industry. Television will always be my first love. Of course, I dream big.
So, getting into films was the next step?
Yes, and I started getting good offers. I am also working in a film by Arindam Sil. And then I acted in a web series by Anjan Dutt recently. I’ve become a fan of Anjanda. Both the directors are so encouraging. Also, I’ll be acting in a Srijit Mukherji film soon. Life has come full circle!
Picture: Rashbehari Das
Fashion Stylist: Aisha Desmukh
Wardrobe (Blue Dress): BYYB
Make-up: Pritha
