Subho Basu grew up in Salt Lake and studied at La Martiniere for Boys. He went on to study drama at New York University and straight out of college, he landed a part in the Hollywood rom-com Sweethearts, co-starring Mad Men and Riverdale alum Kiernan Shipka, which, is now playing on JioCinema as part of its HBO Max slate.

Subho, who is now in Mumbai working on the pre-production of a short film that he has written and is poised to direct, is the son of Chandan and Rakhi Basu and the grandson of former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu. t2 caught up with the young actor-writer-filmmaker for a chat.

How did Sweethearts happen for you?

I booked that movie right out of college in mid-2022. It was a big job and it kind of made me known around the collaborative sphere in New York. We had insanely long hours of shoot for Sweethearts, even up to 16-17 hours a day. But it was an amazing experience. I worked with Nico (Hiraga) and Kiernan (Shipka), who play the leads, and my scenes were primarily with them. We developed a good friendship and are still in touch. Jordan (Weiss, director) gave me the opportunity and we got along right off the bat.

The experience was a little overwhelming for me at first because I did it straight out of college. Before Sweethearts, I was working part-time at a club as a production assistant. The film marked a huge jump for me. So much of our profession is the struggle of wanting to or getting to act. The few of us who are lucky enough to do this should cherish it. The hard part is getting to act, getting to write, getting to produce your work. The easier bit is actually doing it.

I do still audition and try to get my name out there as an actor, but it is not my priority right now. I am pitching my work where I have negotiated my own roles in the contract. So if these films are greenlit, then I will act in my own projects. After Sweethearts, a lot of people have reached out for work opportunities, so that is looking good. But right now, I am focused on creating opportunities for myself.

At present, I am in Bombay pitching projects with some studios. I just received funding for a short film that I have written and will also direct. I am going to start filming in January. It is a 20-minute movie about a woman and is focused on the ‘angry young woman’ theme.

I have also been working on some music projects with friends. But writing and pitching is what is taking up most of my time as well as working on the pre-production of my short film.

Acting, writing or directing, where does your primary interest lie?

I was at NYU (New York University) for drama. I started off with acting and that is what I had gone there for. But with the pandemic, acting became difficult when the world went online and I transitioned to filmmaking and writing. I was able to do a lot of writing and create projects at home with friends during the lockdown. That is where I found my love for filmmaking.

Are you also looking to act in Indian projects?

I have been writing and directing more than acting in India. Acting here is kind of disorganised. Unlike America, there are no real representation opportunities where agencies can periodically get you auditions and submit your name for projects. In America, I have an agent and manager and they set up auditions for me. In India, there is no such scope for emerging actors. I figured the best way for me to get anywhere here would be to create my own stuff and present myself as a writer. Hopefully, from shorts, I can move to features and then series, and I can act in my own work even as I write and direct them.

India is much better than America in terms of filmmaking opportunities just like America is better in terms of representation of actors. In India, there is the Screenwriters Association... they really protect you and there is a lot of transparency with pitching projects. I feel that the art I have grown up with and the kind of art I make is better suited to be created in India. The issues that are spoken about here appeal to me more.

In India, we are at the point of a renaissance where the ‘angry young man’ might come back in the form of the ‘angry young woman’. A lot of my art reflects that. I take huge inspiration from (screenwriters) Salim (Khan) and Javed (Akhtar) who started a completely new era of cinema. I will be lucky if I just get to make a contribution to the new movement of Indian cinema. That is why I am here.

What made you want to take up this career?

It is a long story. I never did any acting in school (La Martiniere for Boys). I went to boarding school (Woodstock) in Mussoorie when I was 13 and I was very homesick. For the first month, we weren’t allowed to call home and I missed my mom terribly. It was very rough for me and I even fell sick.

I had no friends at that point and no special skills to help me fit in. Eventually, they allowed me to call mom and she told me: ‘Why don’t you try and get into a play?’ I thought she was being ridiculous at that time but since I was stuck there, I decided to audition for a play which had students from much senior classes. I auditioned and got the part of a church choir organ player. And I never looked back! As cheesy as it may sound, I feel like this life chose me at that time, more than me choosing it.

I did a couple of plays in high school and I was the lead in one of them. That is when I decided that this is what I want to do in life. My mother was a huge support and my dad, who was initially a little against it, changed his mind when he saw a performance of mine. That was a huge moment in my life and he has supported me on this journey ever since. Hopefully, I can make them proud.

This is a very tough field to be in but you have to have the passion and drive to keep at it. I come from wealth and privilege, but most others don’t. This whole profession is about 90-95 per cent rejection and the only thing that really keeps me going is remembering how acting saved me when I was a kid in boarding school. On my saddest days, when I have no motivation, even if I write one page or film an audition or read something that sparks an idea in my brain, it makes me feel better. It is like how you feel after working out. I have never felt bad after writing or acting or directing or talking about something creative. And I believe that as long as you can hold on in this industry, you will inevitably make it.

I read somewhere that you are also into designing games...

My game design expertise is only in the storytelling aspect of video games. I code very little. It is not something that I am into, but if someone hires me to make a game like how I would make a movie, then I could do that.

When here, what are your favourite hangouts in Calcutta?

I love Calcutta. I go there frequently to see my parents and grandma. It is a nice break for me to go to Calcutta and not think about work. I like playing golf at Tolly (Club) and hanging out with my friends in Salt Lake, where I grew up.

Do you have any enduring memories of your grandfather, Jyoti Basu?

So many! He was the first person to tell me to be a storyteller. As a kid, my mom would tell me stories on the car ride to school and I would just relay those back to him in the evening. He would just sit there and listen to me patiently and one day, he told me: ‘You should tell stories.’ He knew it before anyone else did. That is one of my favourite memories of him.