From cerebral roles of Byomkesh and Feluda to playing the romantic hero in Alaap and Babli, Abir Chatterjee has tried it all. And now we’ve got him playing supercop in Bohurupi. We caught up with the actor to talk about donning the police officer’s uniform in the actioner, working with director-duo Shiboprosad and Nandita after Raktabeej, sharing screen with Ritabhari Chakraborty, and what he wants to explore next on screen.
What made you say yes to Bohurupi?
Abir Chatterjee: In Bohurupi, I play a cop and my character, Sumanta, has a character arc. He starts as an SI of a police station in a remote place in West Bengal and we see him going up the ladder through his honesty and hard work.
There is one dialogue in the teaser, “This is not my success story rather a failure” — this shows how Sumanta has accepted and learnt from his mistakes. He is a character with different shades. He is not as cool as my character, Pankaj, in Raktabeej who’s neither aggressive nor physical. And along with Sumanta’s professional life, we also get to see Sumanta’s personal life and family responsibilities. These are the reasons why I said yes to Bohurupi.
What was the most challenging part of playing Sumanta?
Abir Chatterjee: Sumanta is based on a real-life police officer, whom I met in person. He is a silent person and for the first time, people will see me in a full police uniform. As an actor, I look forward to characters like Sumanta as they feel real. The challenges are high as there are no tools. As an actor, you silently plot and try to bring out the different characteristics in them.
You have worked with director-duo Shiboprosad and Nandita Roy earlier. What is different about their craft that makes them unique?
Abir Chatterjee: From Raktabeej we could see that there's a shift in the way Shiboprosad and Nandita are telling the stories. They were trying to move away from the films they were doing — they are more mainstream, celebrating Bengali culture, people, and places. Yet at the same time, they have a very strong social aspect in their film. Also, they are very organised; their team is very planned and hardworking. They don’t believe in gimmicks. The actors need to prepare and go on set and need not think about anything else. As an actor, I feel relieved because I know I will do my job and the rest will be taken care of.
From Fatafati (2023) to Bohurupi with Ritabhari — Tell us about your roles.
Abir Chatterjee: Ritabhari’s character in Bohurupi is very challenging and very demanding mentally and the character she played in Fatafati was very different from the characters she had played earlier. Ritabhari knows what she is doing and has a very strong, independent mind. In Bohurupi, we once again play the character of a husband and a wife. But whereas in Fatafati our characters were a mature couple, in Bohurupi we see both characters from a very initial stage — from how they fall in love to how they marry. Their equation in Bohurupi is very different from what it was in Fatafati.
This year you have done a variety of roles in films like Shri Swapankumarer Badami Hyenar Kobole, Babli, Alaap, and Bohurupi. What kind of roles attract you?
Abir Chatterjee: I am trying to figure out what kind of roles I want to do on screen. If something exciting comes my way I'll do it irrespective of genre. For the last few years, I was complaining that I wasn’t getting to do romantic films. Then came films like Alaap and Babli, which were two very different romantic movies. I cannot complain anymore. Now the audience might ask me to get into thrillers. I have heard two-three scripts but they didn’t excite me. So, I’m taking some time to understand where I am standing and where I should go from here.
Finally, what films can we look forward to seeing Abir Chatterjee in next?
Abir Chatterjee: I have two or three films ready, like Putul Nacher Itikotha by Suman Mukhopadhyay and Deep Fridge by Arjun Dutta, which are getting great responses at festivals. I am yet to start shooting for Joto Kando Kolkatate by Anik Dutta. Other than that, I haven’t signed anything yet and am taking time to plan how to go forward with it.
