'Chotolok' brings a unique perspective of thriller: Actress Priyanka Sarkar

Q. You are having back to back releases this year. How excited are you?

A. I have worked on these two projects last year. The characters which I have played in Kurban and Chotolok are completely different. I am blessed that filmmakers are giving me such opportunities to experiment with myself as an actor in this way. I am bearing the fruit of my patience actually. I am enjoying the process. I am lucky to be working with some great filmmakers at the present time.

Q. Why did you return to thrillers again?

A. The Bengali audience loves to watch thrillers. A big pie of that audience loves the narrative and storytelling of Kabi-da (Indranil Roychowdhury). A combo of Kabi-da's thriller and narrative is now up for the audience through this web series. Chotolok has brought a unique perspective of thriller. The series has captured some rare nuances of the genre. This is the signature of filmmaker Kabi-da.

Q. Which one appeals to you more, a pivotal role or a smaller role but in a great narrative?

A. I don't know. I can't judge. I can't be biased. It would be dishonesty if I am biased. I will have to justify and make a character believable when the camera is rolling. My job is to make the audience believe in the character. I received equal appreciation and motivation playing a protagonist in Chirodini Tumi Je Amar and a cameo in Hemlock Society. The duration of a role doesn't matter if I can justify the character. Camera always captures the honesty.

Q. What unique style do you find in the direction of Kabi-da?

A. I think the way he communicates with the actors. Every director has a unique vision but communication is key. If the director fails to communicate his/her vision, the actors' vision overlaps. Kabi-da makes sure there is a single vision in the project with no overlapping. Moreover, Kabi-da knows how to communicate with his team members individually and get his job done.

Q. You told us earlier about your keenness to maintain a creative balance. How is that progressing?

A. Sometimes I feel like doing excessive work (laughs). It happens. Exhaustion comes at times. I am a workaholic so I feel the hunger to be connected with people. I won't say I have achieved that creative balance but I am trying to. I am following the process everyday to achieve it. I will have to filter the work opportunities that will come in my way. I will have to judge whether my works are getting repetitive or not.

I will have to justify the roles I play with the body language or little nuances and make that character come alive and not repeat. Repeating a character means dishonesty. After working for years, the filtering part now comes by default. I hope the process to filter and balance becomes easier in the coming days.

Q. People have again started talking about your personal life after you reunited with Rahul Banerjee. How does it feel when your relationship status is given more emphasis than your work?

A. Throughout this Durga Puja season, I have realised people talk about the minute part of the whole thing. Everyone is asking me about how special this puja was as me and Rahul (Rahul Banerjee) have reunited. But in reality, this was not the case because me, Rahul and Sohoj (Priyanka-Rahul's son) used to spend one full day every puja together irrespective of our personal equations.

We used to spend some quality time together because it was important for my son. People, who never had a chance to know it, have suddenly grown curious about my life this puja. It's a funny realisation for me. I am indifferent to all these now. Actors deserve a certain space too, I believe.

(Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)