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On the roll

Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

Starry eyed Prosenjit Chatterjee

Unlike other star sons, Prosenjit Chatterjee, the son of former Bollywood hero Biswajit, the entry and success in the Bengali film world was no cakewalk. Though he made an early debut as a teenager, success evaded him for quite some time, and after 26 years in the industry, he now feels that he has partly achieved what he wanted to be, even though he is currently regarded as the super star in the Bengal Film industry.

With a national award in his kitty for his stirring performance in Rituparno Ghosh’s Dosar, the actor modestly admits that he is still miles away from being called a super star. In a chat with The Hindu MetroPlus at the lawns in The Park, the actor revealed his liking for films and future plans.

“I was baptised into the film world at the age of four when I did my first film as a child artist in the film Chotto Jigasha (small question). Since then I dreamt of films and today, my world revolves around films. I just cannot stay away from it,” says he.

Having acted in over 300 Bengali and a couple of Hindi films in the mainstream category, Prosenjit tells that he has a special liking for off-line or parallel cinema. He has acted in over half-a-dozen off-line films, mostly with Rituparno.

“My combination with Rituparno is just like Satyajit Ray’s combo with Soumitro Chatterjee. Ritu knows how to get the best out of me,” says the actor.

Though his performance in off-line films like Chokher Bali, Utsab and Khela received rave reviews, Dosar was the film that brought out the real actor in him. In major part of the film, he had to emote through his eyes, as he was the hero who was bedridden after a near-fatal accident. “None of my body parts were supposed to move except my eyes. It was extremely exhausting in a physical sense. It was also challenging because the Indian audience does not generally accept characters in films who cheat on their wives,” says he.

The actor says that working for mainstream cinemas is much difficult than the off-line ones. “In parallel cinema, the characters are strong and well-defined. You know what you are supposed to do. For example in Rituparno’s Chokher Bali the role of Mahendra, which was played by me, was well-defined in Tagore’s novel. It was a period film and a lot of research had gone into it. So from day one of the shoot, I knew what I have to do. In the case of mainstream films, the characters are vague and we have to adjust to them accordingly. Moreover, the commitment for commercial films per year is very demanding. But I give the same importance and effort to both the variants,” says he.

The film star holds records of sorts. He is one among the few actors who has recorded the maximum number of releases in a year. “Twenty nine films were released in one year and there are a few cinema halls in West Bengal that have been screening exclusively my films for the last seven to eight years,” says Prosenjit.

Apart from being a super star in Bengal, he is much respected for his contribution to the film industry in the state. Unofficially he is termed as the CEO of the Bengal Film industry. “The industry in Bengal is pretty old. A number of talented people have made it to the national scene and have brought laurels to the country. But the industry has not grown as expected. The industry lacks entrepreneurs who would not mind to take a few risks. I am trying to change that mindset. I am working out a formulae combining culture and economy and I believe it would work,” asserts he.

The actor was a bit critical about the media. He believes that the media in Kolkata is yet to come out of the image set by the mega star of Bengali commercial films Uttam Kumar. “He was the mega star and will continue to remain forever. But the media and the audience have the tendency to compare every newcomer with him. We all wish to be like him, as he is our idol, but you cannot write somebody off with just one or two films,” he says.

Though he could not make a huge impact in the Bollywood circuit, as both his films Aandhiyaan by comedy king David Dhawan and Meet Mere Man Ke by Mehul Kumar did not fair well in the box office, he now has plans to produce and direct films in Bollywood by collaborating both the industries. However, his performance in The Last Lear by Rituparno was critically acclaimed. In the film he starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan and he says that it was both a yearning and learning experience. “Amit ji is an institution by himself. There is so much to learn from him.”

The star from Bengal admits that he is pretty miser with food. “I do not indulge in big food and practically live on fruits and juices.”

Having acted with over 100 heroines, he confesses that his one time wife Debashree Roy and Konkona Sen are his all time favourite leading ladies. He also has huge respect for the southern star Kamal Hasan. “It is my lifetime dream to work with him in a film. Whenever, I am depressed, I make it a point to watch Kamal Ji’s Saagara Sangamam, the film rejuvenates me,” says Prosenjit.

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