He is nothing like how you’d expect a detective to be and that is what makes Ekendra Sen so unique. You can laugh with him and also at him but make no mistake about Eken Babu’s skills in cracking complicated mysteries. With his aides Pramatha and Bapi, the Eken has returned with Ruddhaswas Rajasthan — their second instalment for the big screen, directed by Joydeep Mukherjee — where the trio travel to Rajasthan on a holiday but get caught in solving a mystery.

Anirban Chakrabarti talks about the challenges of playing the quirky and quintessential Bangali sleuth Ekendra Sen in the web series and in film.

Do you remember the time when you got the offer to play Eken Babu?

Anirban Chakrabarti: Yes, it was in early 2018. At that time I was just doing theatre. On screen, I had done a few insignificant roles. Bengali web series was a new thing. The Hoichoi team approached me saying that they had thought of me as the lead character in a new show they were doing. I was shocked and surprised at being offered the lead role.

Neither was I aware that a character like Eken Babu existed, nor did I hear about the stories. After a lot of discussions, script reading and look tests, I finally landed the role. I never saw myself as Eken. I had no reference point to play the character. Even though it was a detective character, it was very different from the detectives we usually see. Eken Babu has nothing in common with Feluda, Byomkesh or Kiriti. I had the liberty as an actor to portray Eken the way I wanted to.

You mentioned that a few dialogues and mannerisms of Eken Babu were tailor-made for you…

Anirban Chakrabarti: Eken Babu on screen is someone who’s very Bangali, clumsy, speaks wrong English, mixes up two different proverbs and is crazy about food. These things were not mentioned in the storybook. My looks also don’t match the description of the character in the book. These were incorporated in the film. Since scriptwriter Padmanabha Dasgupta knew me, it was easy for him to incorporate things keeping me in mind. I also started improvising a little over time.

What was the preparation process like to get into the character of Eken?

Anirban Chakrabarti: I never approach a character in a methodical way. I don’t like to over-rehearse. I just try to understand the character. During the shoot, when I’m performing a particular scene, I think about how a character behaves and try to portray that. I am never too prepared. Since I’ve played Eken eight times in the last five years, I know the character very well. I try to be spontaneous.

Ruddhaswas Rajasthan was shot in Rajasthan. What are your fondest memories from the shoot?

Anirban Chakrabarti: Outdoor shoot is very hectic. We shot on real locations, in places that were away from the city. I had never been to Rajasthan. Even Eken Babu in the film is visiting the place for the first time. He was in awe after watching Sonar Kella. Eken is obsessed with food. We had Rajasthani delicacies like Dal Bati Churma, Kachori, Mirchi Vada, Rabri, Ghewar. Everything was part of the shoot. We shot in a few non-touristy places.

What has been the most challenging part in becoming Ekendra Sen?

Anirban Chakrabarti: Eken is a little loud and exuberant. He likes to have fun. He’s childish. To play a loud character, you can’t have any inhibitions. Making the character too loud would make it look very mechanical. I had to strike a balance between exuberance and spontaneity. It is important to know when to shift.

The Eken web series is a huge hit on Hoichoi. The first film on Eken also received a positive response. Is there a difference between shooting a film and a web series?

Anirban Chakrabarti: A lot of parents told me that their child doesn’t watch any Bengali content except Eken. They know all his dialogues. It’s very rare for a web series to become a film.

The runtime of a web series is longer than a film. The main difference in shooting is technical. The frames are different because one will watch a web series on a small screen and the film on a large screen. As an actor, it’s important to balance the amplification of acting. The scale of acting is different.

How is your real-life bond with Somak Ghosh, who plays Pramatha, and Suhotra Mukhopadhyay, who plays Bapi?

Anirban Chakrabarti: I had worked with Suhotra earlier. I knew Somak but had never worked with him. We three have a great bond in real life. We love spending time with each other and we hang out. We have a WhatsApp group together. This has also helped us to grow together on screen. It is difficult to develop a new chemistry but we three have been able to do it. I definitely miss my old Bapi Babu, played by Shoumo Banerjee, and Pramatha Babu, played by Debopriyo Banerjee.

Did you draw inspiration from any actor to play Eken? The combination of humour and intelligence is a tricky balance to achieve since characters often tend to become caricatures…

Anirban Chakrabarti: I have never really taken any reference from any actor or character. Eken is a very funny character but in a split second, he becomes serious when it comes to solving cases. I’ve tried to maintain these several layers.

Very loosely, I could relate to the character of Karamchand from the show that used to air on Doordarshan. Karamchand was played by Pankaj Kapur. As a child, I would watch this television show. Though Eken is not similar to Karamchand, there are a few common characteristics. Karamchand was also a little unpredictable and clumsy like Eken. Though I never went back and watched the television show, it was somewhere there in my mind.

You were 40 when you decided to leave your job and become a full-time actor…

Anirban Chakrabarti: Yes! I was in academics. I was teaching information technology. I did theatre but it was just out of passion. Because of theatre, I started receiving a lot of offers for acting but couldn’t pursue because of my job. At times I felt like quitting my job, but did not get the motivation. It was difficult but I decided overnight to leave my job. When I did that, I did not have Eken. I had taken a huge risk.

What’s next for you?

Anirban Chakrabarti: I finished shooting for Mainak Bhaumik’s next film Cheeni-2. I have done quite a few films that are yet to be released — Prantik by Aritra Sen, Chandrabindu by Raja Chanda, Santa by Anshuman Pratyush. I have also done a Hindi web series for Netflix and two Hindi web films which are yet to be released.