Megha Mukherjee and Gourab Chatterjee with Mrinal Sen. Picture by Aranya Sen

A smiling Uttam Kumar and a beaming Hemanta Mukhopadhyay loom over the two youngsters taking their first cautious steps into tinsel town. But for Gourab Chatterjee and Megha Mukherjee, co-stars in their debut film, the associations with their famed grandfathers has been quite diverse ? he was weaned on Uttam Kumar?s popularity, she was hardly aware of the Hemanta Mukhopadhyay persona.

Bhalobashar Anek Naam, directed by Tarun Majumder and co-starring Moushumi Chatterjee (Megha?s mother) and Tapas Pal, released on Friday. The film is hardly subtle in trying to cash in on the lineage of this young pair and Gourab, for one, is certainly feeling the pressure.

?Associating myself with my dadu (Uttam Kumar) does make a difference as people are more curious than they would otherwise. But it also adds to the pressure on me as they will expect a lot,? says the first-year B.Com (hons) student of Bhawanipur Education Society. The film fell into his lap even as he was aiming for a career in acting and preparing to get into FTII Pune.

Megha?s take on her lineage is quite different. It was during the course of her debut film that the true-blue Mumbaiker became familiar with her roots ? from her illustrious grandfather to Calcutta and Bengali culture.

?As I was raised in Mumbai and didn?t stay with my grandparents, I had no idea who or what Hemanta Kumar was as a child. It is now that I have come to know how big a personality he is. I felt alienated initially while shooting but slowly I got exposed to a new culture, body language and mannerisms,? explains Megha.

Tarun Majumder sat for rehearsals with the two newcomers for almost a month in his office room at NT1, guiding them on diction and body language. The brief for both was to follow him.

Gourab plays a city-bred youth who lands the job of a schoolteacher in a village and discovers the various shades of love there ? from sisterly affection in Moushumi to the love of his life in Megha.

?I was a little tense for the first two weeks and but then everything began to fall into place. As it was the first film for both Megha and me, we could share the tension. When I had a scene and would get tense, she would try and make me relax,? laughs Gourab, who admits having grandfather Uttam Kumar in mind every time he went for a take. ?He has been my inspiration and I would try and visualise how he would have talked and behaved in a particular situation. I admire the way he moulded himself from his initial days of Shaare Chuattor. And the way he could switch in and out of a wide range of roles.?

Megha, unlike Gourab, was on firmer footing with co-star and mother Moushumi to fall back on on the sets of Bhalobashar Anek Naam. ?Moms will always be moms. But yes, she gave me lots of tips as well,? shrugs the chirpy Megha.

?I don?t think I fitted into the character of a village girl, but later I started empathising with Shumi. I could identify with her problems,? says she, flanked by her parents, elder sister Payel and grandmom Bela Mukhopadhyay at the launch of the VCD of Neel Akasher Neeche on Saturday. The film produced by her grandfather Hemanta Mukhopadhyay had been directed in 1958 by Mrinal Sen.