Tollywood star Dev is in the mood to break out of the romantic hero mould and push himself as an actor. His recent release Byomkesh O Durgo Rohosyo, which he has co-produced and where he plays the iconic Bengali detective, is one more step in that direction. Dev talks to us about his experience of presenting Byomkesh Bakshi in his way and whether he has passed in this crucial test.

Why did you want to be Byomkesh Bakshi when some actors have already made a name as Byomkesh?

Dev: I just wanted to prove the difference between Byomkesh with Dev and without Dev (Laughs). The basic idea was that Byomkesh could also be presented in my way and as per my interpretation. Initially, people said that I was making a mistake by playing Byomkesh but after all the content was released, everyone is saying that it is the best Byomkesh ever. This means I wasn’t wrong. The thought that was going through my mind while doing this film was that I would play Byomkesh differently. People didn’t expect anything from me. I am sure people will understand the difference.

I never wanted to play a detective. I did not want to become Byomkesh either. Before this film, I never wanted to play Feluda but now, never say never as they say. One day we were shooting in a fort in Odisha, there was an hour’s gap and we were waiting for the sunset to shoot the night sequence. Rukmini (Maitra) was there. I told her if I had said no to the film, I would have been sad. She asked why. I said I felt that the film was turning out great. I was getting a Chander Pahar feel. I had a feeling that the film would leave a mark. I was feeling very optimistic. After watching the trailer, Rukmini said this was looking bigger and better than what she had expected. We didn’t think Byomkesh O Durgo Rohosyo would be a magnum opus.

The audience’s love and trust in me is increasing day by day. The projects and offers that I’m getting are tempting. Directors and producers are trusting me with these roles. It is a great feeling that the most difficult roles are coming to me. It is a great feeling both as an actor and a producer. People felt the mounting of Durgo Rohosyo was nothing less than a Hindi film. That means we are on the right track.

How were you so confident that people would be eager to see another Bomkesh Bakshi, and that you would be accepted?

Dev: After a 17-year career, I don’t think I should have any doubt about myself. In the last 15 years, if you pick five blockbuster films, my film is there on that list. I know my plus points and my minus points very well. I know I’ve to work on my minus points. The positive point is that I look big when I stand in front of the camera. For Byomkesh, the way he speaks, the way he looks and the way he presents himself are important. We made a Byomkesh who is no less than Sherlock Holmes. My Byomkesh is very stylish. He is handsome. I feel all these characteristics go well with my image. The places which we thought would be in the risky zone, we passed with flying colours. Byomkesh’s introduction scene was Birsa’s (Dasgupta) idea. We got our fight master from Bangalore. He came for a day and he killed it. The intro shot of Byomkesh was crafted by him where we see Byomkesh dressed as Mahadev with a trishul. I was scared if people would accept me or not. But he said, ‘If Dev believes, people will also believe.’ It took me two hours to practise the shot.

After the trailer dropped, there was one group that was trolling you and another that was eagerly waiting for the film’s release…

Dev: Who cares? Trolling never affects me. But at the same time, people give you so much love for no reason. The trolling percentage is just two per cent. I don’t really care much about them; instead I care about the rest 98 per cent. I respect and work for the people who love me. Trolling does give me a lot of inspiration; it makes me feel I’m a serious actor. People are now slowly taking me as a serious actor. My haters’ list was much longer than it is now. Give me more haters because the last one has become my fan now! (Laughs)

What preparation went into becoming Byomkesh Bakshi?

Dev: Being the producer of the film, we wanted to make a film that would not be compared with the existing Byomkesh films. We didn’t want to take a director who had already made a Byomkesh film because he would have made me look like his Byomkesh.

I wanted the casting to be different. If I’m not looking like a typical Byomkesh, my Ajit should not look like a typical Ajit either. The first name that came to my mind was Ambarish Bhattacharya. He’s a fantastic actor. I wanted our chemistry to be like that of Laurel and Hardy’s. Rukmini has done a wonderful job as Satyabati, which was completely new to her. Birsa and our writer Subhendu Dasmunshi were adamant about casting Rukmini as Satyabati. They were ready to change Byomkesh but not Satyabati. But I was against it because people would think I had forced her to do the film as she’s there in almost all my films. But after the look test, I was also convinced. I am sure we have not seen such a beautiful Satyabati before.

Coming to my preparation, I had to do my homework. I haven’t seen a complete Byomkesh film yet. I have watched portions of a few but then I stopped myself thinking that I would be biased. Since the pressure of becoming Byomkesh was very high, I didn’t want to copy the mannerisms of the other actors who have played Byomkesh on screen. I watched portions of Byomkesh O Chiriakhana by Anirban Bhattacharya and one of Abir’s (Chatterjee) Byomkesh to understand what they do and what Byomkesh looks like. After discussing with my team and costume designers, we changed Byomkesh’s styling. Dhuti Panjabi is there but at the same time when he’s out for work, Byomkesh needs to look international. My costume designer Jayanti came up with an amazing look for Byomkesh. In the film, Byomkesh wears a coat. At the same time, we didn’t want him to look very stylish. My focus was on the diction and looking different from others.

With Uttam Kumar, Rajit Kapur, Abir Chatterjee, Sushant Singh Rajput and Anirban Bhattacharya playing Byomkesh, did you feel an added pressure to live up to expectations?

Dev: Me saying yes to playing Byomkesh is an added pressure. But I love taking pressure. The subjects I’ve taken up in the last few years have not been easy for me. Easy subjects are not giving me the kick. After my next film Pradhan, I don’t want to do any family drama. I want to do something different. The pressure is to do new things. People thought this Byomkesh was going to be a bad one. But I had full faith in myself. I am not talented but I’m very hardworking. I had to work on my voice modulation, dialogue delivery and monologue. In general, I take three pauses in a single-line delivery but Byomkesh has a different style. He belongs to a different generation. So the way I walk, talk and look, everything was a challenge.

You are one of the producers. How challenging was it to make the film?

Dev: It was a huge challenge. I will give full credit to my line production team. My producer partner Shyam Sundar Dey said we should not compromise on anything. We did not think much about the budget. Finding a durgo (fort) was challenging. It was a very expensive fort but we got the best of all. We shot in three different places. I am very happy with the production.

How was it to team up with Birsa Dasgupta again after eight years?

Dev: He is a fantastic maker. He has his limitations like me. He can’t write but he can present it well. Birsa has the power to think visually. I don’t think anybody else would have shot the film this well.

You play Mithun Chakraborty’s son in Projapoti and Bagha Jatin in Bagha Jatin. Is casting oneself in realistic roles a way of changing oneself as an actor?

Dev: Yes. When I play real-life characters, it is a challenge in itself. I love the process of changing myself as an actor. Bagha Jatin, who has got 200 stitches on his leg after a tiger’s bite, will not walk normally. But there’s no documentation and proof. We have changed the way he walks. You have just seen me in the stills. When you’ll see me in motion, you will think, ‘Is this Byomkesh’s Dev?’ I love this process. You will see my hard work on the screen. I’m working on films like Bagha Jatin, Draupadi, Binodini and Pradhan. I want to do things which have never happened in Bengal.