The Hindu : New Delhi News : Her performance comes with a round of applause

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 21, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Her performance comes with a round of applause

Photo: Anu Pushkarna

Thinking actor: Indrani Haldar in New Delhi.

A renowned name in Bengali cinema, actor Indrani Haldar, is now being seen in Ravi Chopra’s Hindi soap opera on the small screen. She tells Madhur Tankha the story of her well deserved success.

Known as a thinking actor, she has carved a niche for herself in Bengali films. Versatile actor Indrani Haldar who has been towering over her contemporaries in the Kolkata film industry now aspires to work with Bollywood film-makers.

Indrani’s role of a lone crusader fighting for the rights of an aggrieved woman in film-maker Rituparno Ghosh’s Bengali film “Dahan” is clearly one of her favourite ones. “It was a dream come true to bag the role of a bold character in ‘Dahan’ who takes up cudgels on behalf of a molested woman. The story was based on the real story of a journalist, who saved a housewife from being criminally assaulted outside the Kolkata metro station. I played the saviour, but after fighting her case the victim backs out.”

Recognition as a reputed actor hasn’t come easy to Indrani. She was honoured with the National Award for best actress in “Dahan” in 1998 only after a string of excellent performances in mainstream and parallel cinema and on television. The award may have come as a befitting tribute to her acting prowess, but the actor is clearly not satisfied.

In Ravi Chopra’s ongoing soap opera “Sujata” on Sony Entertainment Television, Indrani is playing a role different from earlier celluloid and television characters.

“I was told by Ravi Chopra that I have to play a role similar to that of Amitabh Bachchan in “Baghban”. Amitji is my role model and I admire the way he has conducted himself in public life all these years. I studied his role in ‘Baghban’ but in the serial I am playing the role of a younger Bachchan, who comes from a typical middle class background. As the character is an orphan who is married to scion of a rich family, I found the role challenging. Moreover, the B.R. Chopra banner is a prestigious one and I have earlier worked in Ravi Chopra’s serial ‘Maha Shakti’. There are a lot of expectations from my fan club in Bengal to excel in this serial.”

Indrani is also satisfied with her performance in Arindam Chaudhuri’s Bengali film “Faltu”. “But I have done some Hindi films. In fact, I am comfortable in any language. As I studied Sanskrit in college, my Hindi pronunciation is fairly good. I am looking forward to Hollywood films too and am interacting with directors and actors there.”

In her long and eventful career, Indrani has worked with prominent filmmakers like Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Goutam Ghose. “I did Basu Chatterjee’s Hindi film ‘Hamari Shaadi’ in which I played opposite Ajit Pal. I also did a movie with Mithun Chakraborty but it was a box-office disaster. I want to see how the audience likes my role in ‘Sujata’ and then pick films in the Hindi film industry. But no dancing-around-trees type of role for me. I liked Madhur Bhandarkar’s #8217; immensely. I am open to the idea of playing any role in which I would be able to justify my character.”

Indrani was introduced to dance and music as a child. “My culturally enlightened parents encouraged me to explore my creative talent. My father egged me on to read famous Bengali writers like Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay. As a child artiste, my debut serial “Taro Parbol’ is still entrenched in the minds of the audience and continues to be one of the most watched serials in West Bengal.”

Indrani runs the Kolkata Film and Television Institute where she teaches students aged between four and 35 years the nuances of acting. Indrani is also considered one of the three actresses that Bengali cinema currently prides itself on. But the actor dismisses talks about competition between them for the number one slot. “Debasree Roy and Rituparna Sengupta are not my competitors. There is work for everyone in the film industry.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi