Kalki 2898 AD was a challenge for my language barrier, no idea how I did it: Saswata Chatterjee

Q. Kalki 2898 AD is a huge success and you are an integral part of it. How does it feel?

A. Kalki 2898 AD was originally shot in Telugu and then it was dubbed in other languages including Hindi. My biggest challenge was to deliver my lines and dub them in Telugu because I had no knowledge of the language. Adding to that, it was a huge task to live up to the scale of the film. My costume weighed about 3-4 kgs! I had to deliver my lines and do action sequences while putting on that heavy costume. I still wonder how I pulled it off. (laughs)

Saswata Chatterjee in Kalki 2898 AD | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from trailer video

Q. Deepika Padukone once said Nag Ashwin was crystal clear about his vision towards this film. How was your experience?

A. Nag Ashwin is a very soft-spoken person. He is so down to earth and subdued that it is tough for anyone, who doesn't know Nag Ashwin, to identify him as the director on a shooting floor. He managed so many superstars in the same film with such calmness. This can only happen when a director is crystal clear about his ideas and vision towards his/her film. We actors just followed Nag Ashwin's vision with the props, costume and the set that were available to us.

Q. How tough was it to work on a film whose language is unknown to you?

A. I had wondered why I was chosen for a film of a language which I don't know. Irrespective of having no knowledge of the language, my skill in emoting, as I was told, had impressed the makers. The film industries in South India would rope in any skillful actor irrespective of his/her grasp over the language.

Anil Kapoor (L) and Saswata Chatterjee (R) in The Night Manager | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from trailer video

I went through a process to shoot the film. I was handed over the dialogues written in English followed by a copy where the meaning of the dialogues were written in English. I had to compare the Telugu words with the corresponding English ones and learn which words were to be stressed. My first task on the shooting floor each day was to discuss the dialogues with the assistant director in my vanity van. I had to go through all these steps to pull it off. It was a huge thing for me to shoot and dub in a language which is unknown to me.

Q. How did you concentrate on emoting and delivering dialogues without having a firm grip on the language simultaneously?

A. I have no idea! I wonder whether I will be able to repeat it again in future. I believe certain things do happen naturally. It might be the case that I wanted to create a positive impression on the makers' mind since it was my first Telugu film. This might have run in the back of my mind. I had literally forgotten that my co-actor was someone as huge as Kamal Haasan.

Saswata Chatterjee on the sidelines of IBNS interview | Image by Avishek Mitra/IBNS

Q. You turned down a number of offers in Hindi for four years since the 2012 release Kahaani. Did you alter your approach to films in recent times or did the recent offers just sync with your priorities?

A. I think my decision to not sign certain projects after Kahaani has probably helped me. The film industries outside Bengal have realised that I am interested solely in meaty roles because other options were available to me. I wouldn't have been taken seriously as an actor if I had worked on any film which was offered to me. I would have been roped for minor roles if I hadn't waited for four years after Kahaani. The gap of four years helped me.

Q. Bob Biswas in Kahaani or Commander Manas in Kalki 2898AD, which one is currently the closest to your heart?

A. It's tough to choose one because I did all roles out of love. Kalki 2898 AD can't be the closest in terms of language (laughs). Only the audience can say this.

Saswata Chatterjee as Bob Biswas in Kahaani | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from trailer video

Q. Give us some updates about Anurag Basu's Metro... In Dino, which is your next Bollywood film.

A. The filming is still on. I will fly off to Mumbai again on August 9 to resume shooting.

Q. You have shot some sequences in Kolkata for the film. How has been the ride so far?

A. Yes, it was briefly shot in Nonapukur but rest is being shot in Mumbai. Metro... In Dino has a huge cast. Neena Gupta plays my wife, whose friend from college is played by Anupam Kher. My two daughters are played by Konkona Sen Sharma and Sara Ali Khan, whose husbands are portrayed by Pankaj Tripathi and Aditya Roy Kapur respectively. There is Ali Fazal too in the film. Each character has an individual backstory which eventually merges at one point similar to the plot of the first part, Life In A Metro.

Saswata Chatterjee in Anurag Basu's Jagga Jasoos | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from trailer video

Q. How has been your encounter with Anurag Basu? 

A. He is very cool-headed, relaxed and laid back. He is never in a hurry to shoot scenes. If he can't finish a certain number of scenes on a given day, he is absolutely fine with rolling over to the next day. Anurag Basu doesn't give any script to his actors. He will narrate his ideas and will only give a script if an actor asks for it. Besides direction, Anurag also takes charge as the second cameraperson on the floor. Anurag keeps the entire idea about a film in his mind, quite similar to what Satyajit Ray used to do. Though Anurag Basu is a cool-headed person, he sometimes fakes anger to get the job done on the set (laughs).

(Images of Saswata Chatterjee by Avishek Mitra/IBNS, YouTube screenshot grab)