Playing Feluda has been a long-cherished dream of his that has finally happened with Sandip Ray’s Hatyapuri. Indraneil Sengupta, who is determined to prove naysayers wrong, tells us what it has been like for him to morph into Bengal’s most-loved super sleuth.

After Sabyasachi Chakrabarty and Abir Chatterjee, you are Sandip Ray’s new Feluda. How did Hatyapuri happen?

Indraneil: I had approached Sandip Ray after Benuda (Sabyasachi Chakrabarty) announced that he did not want to play Feluda anymore. But Abir (Chatterjee) had already been chosen for Badshahi Angti. I thought I had lost my chance. We were supposed to be working together on Feluda in 2016, which didn’t happen. All these years passed by and finally after six years, it is happening. I am living a dream right now! It has been an extremely exciting journey. I am very happy that I got to play Feluda.

How are you taking the comparisons between you and other actors who have played Feluda?

Indraneil: Honestly, I feel that whenever a big character is cast, people will have their opinions. I’ve heard that there are people who are not very happy with the selection but at the same time there is also a huge section of people who are happy with it. You can’t make everyone happy. I would like to prove everyone wrong.

Do you remember the first Feluda story you read? Which is your favourite? Which is your favourite Feluda film?

Indraneil: I was very young when I read Feluda. It is very difficult to choose a single Feluda story. I had watched Soumitra Chatterjee’s Feluda. My favourites are Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath. I watched Benuda’s Feluda as well. I love Soumitra Chatterjee more because he was the first one.

What kind of preparation did you do to be Feluda?

Indraneil: The preparation was completely based on the reading material. I had thought of revisiting the films of Soumitra Chatterjee, but Sandip Ray had asked me not to do that since subconsciously I would have tried to incorporate their styles. I read the full Feluda Samagra to get into the zone of character.

The script is very close to the text. I got to play the character the way I had perceived it while reading. The minor change is in the way Feluda has been adapted for recent times. He has a mobile phone. The use of the mobile is very casually put in the story. You don’t really feel, ‘Oh my god, he’s using a mobile phone’.

I had to work really hard on my Bengali diction. I have learnt to slow down my pace of speech. For almost one-and-a-half years, I tried to read more Bengali books and speak in Bengali. I tried to cut down on speaking in and watching English and Hindi movies. I tried to stick to wearing clothes that Feluda would wear, which is mostly kurtas.

What was it like to work with Sandip Ray?

Indraneil: It has been a brilliant experience. As a director and technician, he is amazing. I absolutely loved the way he shot Hatyapuri. It is shot in a very classical way. Today, because of the digital medium, things have changed. We tend to overshoot. We do a lot of cuts. He doesn’t do that. He took longer shots and tracking shots. It’s very cinematic. He is also a great human being. His whole family is very respectful. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

How is your real-life bond with Abhijit Guha and Ayush Das who play Jatayu and Topshe?

Indraneil: The real-life bond is just like it is in the film. We did rehearsals. We three had one script-reading session together. We did not do workshops. I don’t like overpreparing. If I know every move of mine, then there’s nothing natural. I prefer to know my lines, know what is going to happen next but still not know what I want to do. For example, there is a scene with Topshe and Feluda. I know Ayush’s lines and I know my lines. I know this is how we start and how we end but then I do not know what is going to happen in between. I like the whole thing of letting it happen. Babuda (Sandip Ray) actually gave us the liberty to do things as we wanted to, maintaining the essence of Feluda and the films.

In the Bengali film industry, dubbing happens long after the shooting of the film. How difficult is it to live the character again when you’re dubbing?

Indraneil: I have always found dubbing difficult. I feel the emotions are more real when you are acting. Personally, I like to deliver my lines in an erratic manner. I feel that a character should also be talking like that. Feluda is different. Feluda is very precise about what he wants to say. That follows a typical graph and way of delivering the lines. That is actually a very dubbing-friendly way of delivering lines. I think that dubbing enhanced my character.

There’s a buzz about you playing Byomkesh Bakshi too.

Indraneil: My priority has always been Feluda, though I love the Byomkesh Bakshi stories. It is a great character to play. But I could never see myself as Byomkesh. I’ve been asked by quite a few people if I would like to play Byomkesh, but I was never too keen on it. I wanted to be Feluda so much. Since I’m Feluda, I don’t want to do Byomkesh. I don’t see any point in diluting the brand.

You work both in Bengali and Hindi mediums. What is the big difference between the Bengali and Hindi film industries?

Indraneil: The scale of production of Hindi films is big because the market is huge. But I feel there’s more talent in Bengal in terms of writers, directors, actors, singers, art directors. The kind of work that these talents do in Kolkata is phenomenal compared to what they are paid here. Bengal is a smaller industry, so you can’t be pumping in the same amount of money like Bollywood.

If you do a Hindi project today and they take you for a six-day schedule somewhere, you might be doing some four scenes in those six days. At times they just call you and make you do half a scene; someday they don’t even call you. You’re paid for it. In Bengal, we do around 16-17 scenes a day. It is physically and mentally very taxing.

It has been almost 18 years for you in the industry. How has the journey been?

Indraneil: I like acting because there’s no end to it. I like the process where you grow every day. There’s something new to learn. You don’t feel saturated. There are so many new talents coming in. They are new but when I see them perform, they look like professionals. I absolutely loved Jitendra Kumar and Pratik Gandhi, to name a few. These people keep me on my toes. At times I feel like, ‘What am I doing?’ Every day is a challenge.

Any recent film or web series that you liked?

Indraneil: I love watching all kinds of content. But I do not like to watch romcoms and K-dramas. My daughter loves K-dramas. Recently I loved Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Panchayat and Kota Factory. I also watched Ballavpurer Rupkotha. I liked it.

What are your upcoming projects?

Indraneil: There are a couple of films that I’m doing. I’ll be doing a role in Aarya Season 3.