Director like Mainak, is a gift to an actor: Samrat

Excerpts:

How did you get involved with the project of ‘Kolkata Calling’?

I met Mainak (Bhaumik) when I was working in ‘The Bong Connection’. It was Anjan da’s (Anjan Dutt) film. He edited the film and he actually went to the States. Ever since we had a connection with each other. You can call it a Bong connection. Since then, Mainak has been writing and directing a lot of films. I have been moving back and forth but we met last December. That’s when he said that he’s doing this movie and whether I’m interested. So we had a proper meeting and we discussed the story. He told me about the character named Deep and he told me that I’m the best person to do this role.

What is this character all about?

He is an interesting character. He is very intense. Deep is a guy who grew up in Kolkata, a Bengali guy. Even though he is good with mathematics, he wants to be a painter but his parents do not want him to be the next Rabindranath. So he gets into the pressure of actually becoming an engineer even though he doesn’t wants to be one. He goes to the States and has a psychological breakdown because it’s just not him. He comes back and tries to recover from the psychological issues. In the process, he meets a beautiful girl named Gayatri, which is Raima’s role in the movie.

You are paired with Raima in the movie. How are these characters involved with  each other?

I can’t tell much about Raima’s character. You have to see the film to know the secrets. But, Raima’s amazing. She’s a genuine, fun and spontaneous person both on and off the sets. Being on the sets, I felt like home. Mainak and Raima have already worked together. On the very first day of shooting with her, she was so welcoming and so generous. It was wonderful to work with her.

You talked about having a Bong-connection with Mainak, what connection did you share with him on the sets?

I feel it is a gift to an actor to have a director like Mainak. When you are working on a movie, you would want to talk and collaborate with the director. If the director is really stiff on the sets, its one thing but with Mainak it is the opposite. It's easy to talk to him and together we are creating this movie, collaborating truly. It helps because the character has many shades. I used talk with Mainak about the character, and it really comes alive while we’re simply experimenting. So this kind of camaraderie, friendship and free communication with the director is an absolute gift.

The audio track Chai from the movie has been picturised on you and Raima in an underwater sequence. Will you like to share with us the experience of being a part fo such a shoot?

A day before we shot the underwater sequence, Mainak called and asked ‘Ei tora satar janis?’ (Do you know how to swim?). He had so much going on in his head, he forgot to mention this particular thing. Luckily, we did know how to swim. We were supposed to do it in a single take and it was January. When we dived, it was really cold but we stayed underwater for a while and had warm fluids later, hoping not to catch pneumonia.

Kolkata Calling, as Mainak had said earlier, is about the inner calling that we all have. Is the inner calling in your life acting?

I was born in London and I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. My father is a doctor. There was not such pressure but we had a Bengali community in Boston. My father, in the weekends, used to direct plays and he was very much into the Bengali culture. From a small age, he introduced me to theatre and he didn't know how much that will influence me then. But I caught it like a bug. At a very young age, I started acting and I got into music. When I went to college, for my pre-meds, at that point also I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I looked up to what my dad does because it is a noble thing. I was in my class one day and I looked around the class, where I was learning my lines from the play that I was doing at that time but my friend was really absorbing and learning. I thought he is going to be a good doctor. He is learning and he really wants to do it whereas, I am learning the lines from the play. So that’s when I thought, no, I have a different calling and Kolkata was calling.

What do you miss the most about Kolkata when you are abroad?

My mamarbari (maternal uncle's house) is in Barasat. I used to go there for barir khabar (home-made food). Earlier it used to be open fields over there. Now, it has all changed. You see big stores and building everywhere. But on personal levels, I miss the open space. The naturalness. I miss the Oxford book store at Park street, Phuchka from Esplanade or Vivekananda Park, my friends, family, the energy, the adda on the rock, running into friends in the weekends. Mostly I miss my friends and fellow artists.

Images Avishek Mitra/IBNS