I play the younger Rupa Ganguly in period drama Apala: Ritabhori

Ritabhari, who shares screen space with the versatile Rupa Ganguly and Nigel Akkara (who had played the role of a tough jailbird in Muktodhara) in the film directed by her mother Satarupa Sanyal, spoke to IBNS on the sidelines of the premier of the romcom Bawal, where she is the female lead opposite young Tollywood actor Arjun Chakroborty.

"Apala is a 20-year old woman of 50s who is docile and silent to the subjugating ways of patriarchy. She forsakes all her creative passion at the altar of marriage," Ritabhari says about her character which comes in flashback sequence of the movie.

"I had to ape the mannerism of the women of that era which is so unlike myself. I wore saree and long sleeve blouse and heavy jewellery as a middle class family housewife of that time for whom getting married to respectable households was dictated by her looks," Ritabhari recalls.

Rupa Ganguly, about whom she gushes as her co-star who did not have any starry tantrum on the sets, essays the elder Apala who is more independent with the passage of time and in the era of 90s of women's empowerment.

"Apala is a serious feminist tale unlike just released Bawal which is a breezy nonsense urban comedy and I am in love with the phrase Bawal which is a cute word with no vulgar connotations. It is more of a challenge for an actor to turn up in different genres of film," Ritabhari, daughter of film makers Utpalendu Chakroborty and Satarupa Sanyal, says.

"In this age of whatsapp, sms texting certain words have got acceptance. You can relate with them. And this reminds us about the 'bawali' (mischief making) on the sets of 'Ogo Bodhu Sundari' serial where we even broke things during moments of madness. This prompted the director to shout order order but we never listened," Ritabhori
recalls.

Coming back to Apala, she says the film is all about a journey which "had moved me to tears when I first heard the story from my mother."

"And I insisted I will do the character," Ritabhari adds with a smile. She terms her chemistry with male actors from  Arjun Chakroborty (son of Sabyasachi Chakraborty) to Nigel Akkara of Muktodhara and Yoddha fame as wonderful as both are decent and consistent.

"If you have decent and honest persons as your opposite lead that helps in building up the comfort factor. Both Nigel (in Apala) and Arjun (Bawal) are wonderful co-actors," Ritabhari says.