Director Atanu Ghosh’s film Shesh Pata releases in the theatres today. The film, produced by Firdausul Hasan and Prabal Halder from Friends Communication, stars Prosenjit, Gargee Roychowdhury, Vikram Chatterjee and Rayati Bhattacharya. The storyline of Shesh Pata follows Balmiki, a non-conformist fiction writer. Soon he meets Medha, who plays a crucial role in his life. t2 caught up with Gargee Roychowdhury, who essayed Medha’s character on screen...

What was the idea with which the director or producer approached you for this film?

Working with Atanu Ghosh in Mayurakshi was like homework for me to play a more significant role like Medha in this film. I think Mayurakshi gave him the trust that he can consider me. And right after listening to the story, I asked him when do I hear the script…he writes a very clean script and there’s an earthy touch in his script. I did many telefilms with him and knew his method of work. His work is very different. He doesn’t compromise after he has thought about a story in a certain way. He is a perfectionist.

How did you prepare for Medha’s character?

For Medha’s character, I felt, I could touch her. I like to listen to the script from the director because that is where half my homework on the character gets done. I like to know what the director is thinking about a certain character. They live with the character for a long time in their mind. It is important for me to know their perspective. Every artiste is a loner and they have two sides to themselves. One is who they are and the second is the artiste that they are. Medha’s character touches the soul. Every person goes through depression. It is a state of mind. Medha also goes through it. I didn’t have to do any homework as such. I trusted the character and I gave in to the character. Medha’s crisis is something most of us can relate to.

Medha plays a crucial role in Balmiki’s life… do you have a memorable scene from the film involving Balmiki and Medha?

In Jaatishwar, Kushal Hazra’s scenes were Prosenjit Chatterjee’s best, I felt, to date. But the character that Bumbada plays in this film is above everything else. I feel so. The kind of effort he has put into it. My challenge was to conjoin these two characters — Medha and Balmiki. We have good chemistry on screen and even if we do one film in two years, the effect stays. With every passing scene, we felt this is harder than the one we did before. This fight that was going on in the mind, helped us to portray Medha and Balmiki better.

There are two scenes, one is where Medha starts a song. Medha wants to forget all her sorrow and hold on to someone. Even Gargee wants that. We all want that. When a man falls in love, he becomes a child. Medha brings out that childishness in Balmiki and nurtures it with a lot of love. There is a scene where I am asked to sing. Bumbada’s character comes and places his hand on my head. That is my best scene in the film. That touch on the head makes an actor push her limits. Touch is so important between actors.

Then there’s the scene where Balmiki’s clothes need to be changed. Atanu did that impromptu. In NSD, we used to call it a trust game between actors. We need to give in. The camera doesn’t lie. The trust can be seen. Whatever the society had covered him with, Medha undresses him of those. It gives me goosebumps. We did it in one take. If Prosenjit Chatterjee had not been there, Gargee couldn’t do it.

What about Medha’s character attracted you the most?

A very quiet person but has a firmness within herself. She is so strong from within. She says, if we start something, we must go till the very end. This inspired me very much. Think before you take the job. Once you have taken it, you must finish it. Medha has magic within herself, a sort of maya… and by using that she can gain the trust of people. I think somewhere Gargee is also that. I could relate.

You did your first playback for a film in this film. What was your experience like? Were you nervous?

I did it out of love. I sing out of happiness. I stay happy, so I can act. Music gives me happiness. I am not formally trained but I have stayed amidst music since childhood. Just like my acting helps me to deal with everything, music also does. So, I did not feel nervous. The two songs that Atanu selected were my favourites. It felt like a coincidence. Medha was magical for me. The entire journey of the film was a magical comfort zone for me.

After Mayurakshi, the three of you (Prosenjit, Atanu and Gargee) are again coming together in this film…how was the ambience on the set?

It was not that we were always having fun but it felt like… the way one feels relieved and happy to come back home after a day’s hard work. The entire journey was like that. It was an inhibition-free set. Our DOP was brilliant. We didn’t realise when we did so many scenes. All of us who were there were committed to our roles completely. We spoke about a lot of things when the lights were being set up.

In the last one or two years, we are seeing you in different kinds of roles. How are you looking at yourself as an actress at this point in the industry?

I have been working for many years. I don’t write and I don’t have a pen to express myself. I only act. Acting is my language. My happiness, sadness, excitement – everything is through acting. I have always broken myself as an actor again and again and built myself back. There are a few people in life whom I keep ahead of me. That’s where I want to reach. In the coming years also, I would want to break and build myself over and over again for my characters. That’s my only weapon and it is my contribution to society.