Kinjal Nanda is revelling in the praise coming his way for his performance in Hiralal, a biopic on Hiralal Sen that shines a light on an inspiring journey of a film-maker, considered by many to be India’s first. Kinjal plays Hiralal Sen. A chat with Kinjal...

What kind of feedback are you receiving for Hiralal?

The feedback is really positive from the audience. They have loved our effort. I have been flooded by congratulatory calls and messages. It is the triumph of teamwork.

Tell us a bit about yourself? And how did you get into acting in plays?

I am from Egra, a small town in Midnapore. From my school days I was fond of watching films, though avenues were very limited in those days in the village. I started taking part in school plays and later joined the recitation classes of Ratna Mitra. Then I joined the Kathakriti theatre group and started practicing theatre regularly under the guidance of Sanjib Roy. Later, I luckily got the opportunity to work with various theatre groups from Calcutta. Now I’m acting as well as giving direction for our production Ami,Tanu O Se, written by Sounava Basu.

You are also a doctor. How do you find time to do both?

I have never set any line of demarcation between acting and my hospital job, both are equally important for me. Both are my passion. Obviously I’m grateful to my hospital colleagues, without their help, this job would have been unmanageable.

Kinjal (right) as Hiralal in the final moments of the film. Stricken by cancer, Hiralal passed away in 1917. Sourced by the correspondent

How did your film journey begin?

The offer for this role came from Sounava Basu, casting director and dialogue writer of the film, and Arunda (Arun Roy, director), very suddenly. Arunda approached me after watching me in a theatre performance. I was completely unaware of Hiralal Sen, before this film. Overall this film has built my perception of cinema. I feel very lucky that I got selected for this role. This film is very close to my heart and I have given my 100 per cent to this role.

How did you prepare to play Hiralal? What was your homework?

The preparation phase was research-oriented for me. I started by listing a few questions to build this character. Then we tried to figure out the answers to those points from different books, old magazines, documents and so on. Arunda helped me throughout in this process.

How did you do the physical transformation in the end?

That was a real challenge. I was under supervision of my dietitian Shibayan Ganguly. Over a period of 1.5 months, I lost about 27kg to get that cancer-affected emaciated look. During the last three days of final shoot, I did not even have a single drop of water. This was really challenging.

A poster of Hiralal playing in theatres now Sourced by the correspondent

You played Hiralal with so much sincerity, grit, determination, innocence. You conveyed it all so brilliantly. What were you aiming for?

For me, as an actor, the character is the last word. So, I put in my effort honestly to become the character. All the changes in my look, my dialogue delivery, body language... everything was necessary to give shape to the character and so I did it. I really enjoyed the journey a lot.

What was your toughest scene to portray in the film and why?

When Hiralal was refused by Kusum Kumari and what happened with Classic Theatre in the end. Actually, this kind of crisis can become real in any artiste’s life; when one is not understood by family or friends... I was very emotionally attached while shooting for this part. I wanted to go through that exact pain within me, so that I could express the same in front of camera. The biggest takeaway for me was that I could connect with the spirit of Hiralal, that he was determined to fight against all odds to fulfill his dreams; that he did not compromise.