At a recent t2 shoot in The Temi Bungalow in Sikkim, we met actor Saswata Chatterjee. Apuda, as we lovingly call him, was mostly relaxing but was also preparing his script for his big project in the south this year, Kalki 2898 AD. He directly flew to Hyderabad for the shoot after a short break in the hills. A promised conversation with us was pending. It was a day after his mother’s demise, recently, that our interview with him was scheduled. We suggested postponing the interview, but like the professional that he is, Apuda spoke to us. In a freewheeling chat, the actor took us through his acting process, working across industries, his friendship with Anil Kapoor and his upcoming film, Crew.
Do you usually seclude yourself to prepare for a character or read a script?
I went to Temi for a holiday. The place is quiet so that helps but there is nothing like that. The script reading usually happens together. If we don’t get that time then they send the script. I read it and talk to the director to find a middle road. That is usually the process.
You are working across industries. How do you enjoy your breaks?
If I don’t have shooting, I can’t stay at home for a long time. Whenever we get a gap, we travel to different places by car. We have a group. But it is solely for relaxation.
How do you approach the craft now after being in this profession for decades?
Acting means learning every day. I still feel nervous on the first day of a project. I opt for different characters and this has kept me alive as an actor, the opportunity to do something new. I haven’t considered myself a know-it-all. Every day, I learn from my directors or co-actors. I have worked with actors of today’s generation as well. There is so much to learn from them. We could not think of the way they approach work 25 years ago. A lot of changes are happening in filmmaking and acting. Some characters of the past feel too loud now but that was the style back then. Now, people are more focused on non-acting. For some characters that works but for some characters, acting is required.
What is your process of embracing a character?
I don’t stay quiet for a week because I have to act in a character who cannot talk. That’s not my process. I won’t go and stay with a beggar because I have to play the role of a beggar. It is acting and I act.
Has it ever been difficult for you to step into or out of a character?
I didn’t want to do Achena Uttam because bringing that image on screen is not possible. Atanu (Bose) was after me. I had to figure out which side to focus on. I understood that I could not portray his image or screen presence, so I had to bring the right attitude to the right scene.
When I shot Meghe Dhaka Tara, my wife told me that I was not myself. I did not realise it. They were scared to come in front of me or tell me anything. I understood that at the end of dubbing. Kamaleswar (Mukherjee) later told me he had an idea of what I could do with a character like that. I did it then but I don’t know if I can do it again. This one film will always be special.
How much impact did your father (Subhendu Chatterjee) have on your acting career?
I was never serious about being a part of this industry. This happened by fluke. Watching this world as an outsider, I was attracted to it, and I used to see them travelling to various places to shoot and that attracted me. (Laughs) I told my father that I wanted to act. He told me that learning is important if I want to act and so he sent me to the theatre group Charbak. He told me a guru is important. I learnt the craft from Jochon Dastidar for six years. For the first one and a half years, I could not be on stage. I used to clean the rehearsal room, give proxy for others and during breaks I had to bring tea for others. This helped me stay grounded and it taught me discipline, which helped me later. Under my father’s direction, when I started doing theatre under a professional board, I learnt a lot from there as well.
Are you guiding your daughter Hiya for this profession?
I am not doing anything for her now. Let her decide what she wants to do. I will do whatever is in my capacity. I didn’t learn from one person. My guru is the entire film industry. The actors of my father’s time, they are all my gurus. It wasn’t called the Golden Age just like that. In the ’60s the kind of acting that Uttam Kumar did in Deya Neya or Chowringhee, no one can do it even today. It is so modern. Bhanu Bandyopadhyay, Jahar Roy, Tulsi Chakraborty. There are so many names. Our Bengali film industry is a gold mine with works these actors have left behind. Watching is also a form of learning.
Bhanu Bandyopadhyay inspired you. Was it easy to convince you for Jomaloye Jibonto Bhanu?
After watching Jekhane Bhooter Bhoy, many told me they found a similarity between us. Bhanu jhetu’s two sons and daughter wished for me to play the role if a film on him ever happened. And finally, this film happened. It was tough because his family depended on me to portray their father on screen. We are still awaiting the film’s release.
People consider Kahaani as your turning point. Do you think that way?
I think a big breakthrough was Topshe. Topshe is a landmark I feel. Kahaani is much later. I cannot deny it gave me a place in the Indian film industry. The entire character is of not even 10 minutes. No one thought that could create history like this.
From whom did you receive the most unexpected appreciation after Kahaani?
For four years after Kahaani I didn’t do any Bollywood film until Jagga Jasoos came to me. I wanted to do something meatier or better. One day on the sets of Jagga Jasoos, Anurag told me a Bob Biswas fan was waiting to meet me. It was Ranbir Kapoor. The moment I stepped inside, he hugged me and told me: ‘Dada, big fan of Bob Biswas.’ Another day, Saurabh Shukla knocked on my van (door) to appreciate my performance. It was an honour for me.
You are shooting a huge project in the south and your Bollywood film Crew is set to release this month. Are you working less in Bengal?
No. I am just looking for interesting roles. I just did a web series for Zee5 called Kaantay Kaantay.
How did Kalki 2898 AD happen?
They only called me. During Jagga Jasoos they had called me once for a film but I couldn’t do it because Jagga Jasoos was shot over three years. I asked them why they called me because I don’t know the language. They told me that they followed my acting and I emote well. They sounded so confident. If the actor is good, language is no barrier. The director liked my pronunciation so much that he wanted me to dub it too. I dubbed the film. Kalki 2898 AD is a huge project, and I never thought it would come to me. Prabhas, Deepika, Kamal Haasan, Amitabh Bachchan are all part of it. I don’t know how many crores they have put into this film. I really love the working culture there. The RRR song was announced for the Oscars and a different production stopped their work to dance to that song because the industry got an Oscar. The people there are so proud of their industry... not just of themselves. This really helps the industry to grow. I don’t know when our industry will be like this.
What do you like and dislike about the changes in the industry now?
Any change has a good and a bad side to it. Earlier, if anybody would do an NG shot, or not good shot, the producer would incur a huge loss. The director had to come prepared with their shots. With the digital format, many new directors come on the set without doing their homework. But I appreciate the way they think in terms of the making and the variety of subjects they are working on. It is not that everything feels right but they are thinking differently.
You share a great rapport with Anil Kapoor which is no longer a secret. How was it working with his production for Crew?
(Laughs) Yes, he only recommended me. The first day when I went to shoot, I asked Rhea (Kapoor) whether he would come. Rhea told me: ‘He will definitely come for you. He loves you.’ I have a great rapport with him. We often talk over text. I loved doing this film. The three actresses were great to work with. I have known Tabu since 2001, when we did Abar Aranye. The other two actresses were great too and highly professional. There was Rajesh Sharma as well.
What did Anil Kapoor and you bond over?
It happened during a shoot. He has an infectious energy. Even after achieving so much in life, he likes to do something repeatedly to see if he can make the shot better. It is something to learn. But he realised that I don’t like giving a shot more than three or four times. So one day, after I reached the set, he told the director in my presence: ‘Make this Bengal tiger sit. We will rehearse first and then you call him. Whatever he does in the first shot, he does the same thing in the fifth shot, too.’ (Laughs) That’s how we bonded. He calls me Bengal Tiger.
Did you become social media savvy recently?
I had to open a page to avoid false claims but I don’t post, my team does. If I like something, I send it to my wife. Even now when I go for a shoot, my phone is in flight mode and in my bag. I communicate with my family after the shoot. Now, I have a new phone with a great camera to just click pictures. (Laughs)
