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Aparna Sen and Anjan Dutt on being directed by Parambrata in ‘Ei Raat Tomar Amaar’

The chamber drama produced by Hoichoi Studios will hit cinemas on January 31

Agnivo Niyogi Published 31.01.25, 12:32 PM
Anjan Dutt and Aparna Sen in ‘Ei Raat Tomar Amaar’

Anjan Dutt and Aparna Sen in ‘Ei Raat Tomar Amaar’ TT Archives

Aparna Sen and Anjan Dutt will be seen as a married couple for the first time on screen in Parambrata Chattopadhyay’s Ei Raat Tomar Amaar, which releases at theatres on January 31. The Telegraph Online chatted with the actor-director duo about their comfort level as co-stars and why they said yes to the film.

What made you say ‘yes’ to Ei Raat Tomar Amaar?

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Anjan Dutt: Had Aparna Sen not acted in his movie, I would never have said yes. I have wanted to act with her ever since she first directed me (in Yugant). In fact, in Mrinal Sen’s Mahaprithibi, Aparna and I were a part of the cast but not paired opposite each other. I know that Aparna Sen will not say ‘yes’ to a bad or not-so-good script. And if the script is somewhere there, she will make suggestions. And I know Param (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) is a person who will listen to her feedback.

I quite liked the script when Param narrated it to me. It was sensitive, it was humorous. It was something that popular cinema wasn’t doing anymore. We have too much violence and thrillers being made these days. So, this was like a welcome change.

Aparna Sen: For me, had Anjan not been my co-actor, I would not have said yes. And there is a reason for that. This is a chamber drama where the actors have to carry the film on their shoulders. That is a challenge which you cannot deliver on unless you have a co-actor who you can play off. So, the first question I asked Param when he narrated the story to me was, ‘who is playing Amar’ and when I was told it was Anjan Dutt, I said I would do it only if Anjan plays Amar and if I like the script.

I also wanted to act under Param’s direction. He had offered Sonar Pahar to me, which I couldn’t do, and Tanuja did a fabulous job. I also find Param very open. I do not want to act these days because it is very difficult for me to take my director’s hat off. Unless it’s a director who is dependable and is doing a competent job.

(To Anjan) You have directed Parambrata in films like Bong Connection and Chalo Let’s Go. How was your experience of working with Parambrata as a director?

Anjan Dutt: He is a sensitive person. I trust him. I think he is sure of what he is doing. He is not trying to make me overact. Because he is a decent actor, he would never try to make his actor go over the top.

Aparna Sen: Yeah, that’s true. That’s very comforting.

Anjan Dutt: I completely like that.

Aparna Sen: He also does not write any clever dialogues.

Anjan Dutt: Oh yes. I get several scripts these days which are cleverly written, but they are insensitive, false and pretentious.

Since both of you are directors, were there creative inputs from your side on Ei Raat Tomar Amaar?

Aparna Sen: Of course. From both of us. All of us sat and ironed out the problems we thought were plaguing the script. Motivations and stuff like that which we didn’t understand.

Anjan Dutt: In fact, the inputs were for my character. When Aparna Sen is trying to make the script better, she is not doing it for her character. She is trying to enrich the script.

Aparna Sen: All three of us are directors. When we are looking at the script, we are not looking at how prominent our own characters are but the film as a whole.

(To Aparna) You have directed Anjan Dutt in films like Yugant, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer and Ghawre Bairey Aaj. You were also co-stars in Ek Je Chhilo Raja. Did these experiences help you this time?

Aparna Sen: I have known Anjan for such a long time. I have directed him and understood him as an actor and as a human being. We are comfortable with each other. I know his style of acting. I know that I will get the right reactions from him. I know that we’ll constantly be supportive of each other while acting. I know we will be honest with each other. This level of comfort had already been reached.

Anjan Dutt: I have seen a lot of her performances and this is one of the finest performances by an elderly actor. It’s a very difficult role to play. Apart from acting, I have interacted with her in other ways too. Once we were celebrating Leonard Cohen one evening at Someplace Else and I called her up. She immediately came over, that too in a taxi.

We have seen several films in the recent past with elderly people at the heart of the story, like Shontan, Tonic and Puratawn to name a few. Why do you think this has become a trend?

Aparna Sen: I haven’t seen any of these films, I’m so sorry.

Anjan Dutt: Ei Raat Tomar Amaar may deal with two elderly people but it is not about elderly people. It is a very modern film.

Aparna Sen: It is also not heavy-handed. It’s light.

Anjan Dutt: This whole elderly people trend is to be sentimental, melodrama. But Ei Raat Tomar Amaar is not sentimental. This is an intelligent film. Irrespective of whether they are young or old, sensitive people will like it.

You started your acting careers with directors like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. From them to the present day, Bengali film industry has undergone an upheaval. How do you look at this change?

Aparna Sen: I feel that there has been a failure on our part, as an industry, for not being able to expand the market. That is the root of the problem. The market has, in fact, shrunk to just pockets in West Bengal. There are Bengalis everywhere, why haven’t we been able to reach them? Had we been able to expand the market, our directors wouldn’t have had the compulsion to make films one after the other in quick succession without having the time to think of what they’re saying. And they wouldn’t be so terrified of the audience rejecting them. Nobody understands the audience anymore.

Anjan Dutt: I can tell you from experience. My major source of income is concerts, and they are all outside Bengal. Bengalis based out of India are calling me to perform in their cities. I have a market there. There is an audience there. Why are Bengali films not tapping that market?

Both of you are known for being vocal about social and political issues.

Anjan Dutt: I wouldn’t call myself vocal. There are certain actors, for example Al Pacino, Meryll Streep and Sean Penn, who are activists. Maybe Aparna Sen would fall in that bracket. But I am not. However, I am not insensitive.

Aparna Sen: The fact that I was the editor of Sananda for the longest time made me aware of things happening around me. You can’t separate the sensitivity from the director. My activism may have come out in my films as well.

I also felt a sense of responsibility as a public figure whose voice may be heard. Maybe nothing will happen, nothing may change, but at least that protest has been registered. Maybe someone will take courage from that act.

Both of you have also been at the receiving end of trolling, both online and offline. Do you think that would affect the box office prospects of your film?

Aparna Sen: I think I have been able to make the films that I’ve made because I never thought about how they would do. That is the farthest thing from my mind. I try not to make them difficult or out of reach for people to understand. The fact that I have been making films for 40 years without making compromises is something I’m proud of.

Anjan Dutt: It’s a nascent trend of social media vilification. I don’t think people who are doing all this nonsense will come to the theatres to watch our work.

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