Srijit Mukherji and Parambrata Chattopadhyay go back a long way... to school actually! They have worked together on stage and in films. And now, Parambrata will be seen in Srijit’s January 23 film Dwitiyo Purush, a spin-off and a sequel to Srijit’s 22shey Srabon. The Telegraph chats with Srijit and Param at Srijit’s Lake Gardens home...

In a crucial scene in 22shey Srabon, we see the characters played by Prosenjit and Parambrata discussing a key plot point. In the background we can see another man (Srijit) working away on his laptop. Suddenly, the laptop is taken away from him so that the two police officers can use the Internet. Now, Srijit, we see you in a cameo at Abhijit Pakrashi and Amrita’s (played by Param and Raima Sen respectively) wedding in Dwitiyo Purush. What’s the connect?!

Srijit: The first thing is that it’s a film, not a web series! Abhijit and that man (Srijit) become friends… they have the same taste in music and cinema. He soon becomes a part of the family and that’s how one sees him holding the piri at their wedding!

Parambrata: Incidentally, Srijit first opened a Twitter account during the promotions of 22shey Srabon!

We have heard that not too many of the Dwitiyo Purush cast members know the full story of the film…

Parambrata: Anirban (Bhattacharya) and I know everything! For 22shey Srabon, something else happened. Srijit started narrating the story to Abir (Chatterjee) and me and then he ended by saying Goutam Ghose’s character dhora porlo. I was like, ‘This is not possible!’

Srijit: Of course, I told him everything… after taking a deep breath! The 22shey Srabon climax was shot with a skeletal unit. Some of the actors have not got the full script of Dwitiyo Purush.

Parambrata and Raima in Dwitiyo Purush, which releases on January 23 Still from the film

22shey Srabon was a huge success. What is the secret behind making the whodunit format work? The audience watched 22shey… again and again despite knowing who the killer was in the end…

Srijit: I have always believed in mixed-genre films. So it cannot be just a whodunit. There has to be layers… and these layers make you watch the film many times even after you know who the killer is. I love the portion in Dwitiyo Purush where we see Abhijit growing up and helping someone else (played by Gaurav Chakrabarty) to grow up as well.

Parambrata: Abhijit was kind of like a rookie in 22shey Srabon; he was idealistic about certain things. He was hesitant. In Dwitiyo Purush he is calmer, mature; he has come of age. He is seeing how the system works from the inside for a very long time; he knows the loopholes as well. He will perform his duties to his last breath. Maybe he is a little bitter, which comes with age. A certain degree of that is not harmful… it only helps you to see the bigger picture. He has a world of his own where not a lot of things exist apart from his work, and how to negotiate with the not-so-nice parts of his work. He resides in that kind of a world. Amrita has her own set of idiosyncrasies as well. They try to make things work but not always does it fall into place. He is also facing a very difficult task; he is a man on a mission as well. He is under tremendous pressure, so he may not always be able to carry out some of the duties one expects from a husband or a partner. At the same time, he is that sort of a lover who does not really know how to express his love. It really boils within him… as far as love is concerned he is a perpetual brooder.

How were the two of you placed in life before you went into the shoot of 22shey Srabon, and then for Dwitiyo Purush?

Parambrata: I had just finished shooting for Kahaani, my directorial venture Jio Kaka had released, which had not done great at the box office. The shoot of 22shey Srabon helped me to settle down a little bit. Life and career in general have come a long way. Now I can see a project objectively. Srijit was not perpetually on Twitter back then (smiles).

Srijit: After the success of Autograph, there were huge expectations from me for my next film. One was dubbed as the next big thing. Everyone had an opinion on what I should do next. Someone suggested that I wait it out for three years and let the next one grow and develop while another suggested I do three films in a year. I wanted to move away completely from Autograph, which is why I picked a thriller for my next film. I remember during that time there was this madness… now its manifestation happens in a different way. There was a lot of nervous energy at that time. I was shooting on film for the first time; and the last time. That required a certain amount of discipline. I have mellowed down a lot now. I trust people more. I am more trusting towards some of my actors.

You know each other since school (Dolna Day School). How do you see each other evolving over the years?

Parambrata: Srijit is brutally ambitious, which is his driving force. Holding on to that and delivering time and again... very few people have managed to do that... he has. Earlier, I knew Srijit as my school senior who had come into making films. Now I know him more as an industry person who I know. I look at him more like a colleague rather than a school senior. But when I was doing 22shey… he was first a school senior. I refer to him as Srijit now while I used to refer to him as Rijuda then. One thing I miss about Srijit is that… after making so many films maybe he knows that things will fall into place eventually. That’s happened maybe because he has been really prolific. I miss that (nervous energy) because I used to find that exciting as an actor.

Has Srijit become blase now?

Parambrata: No.

Srijit: That can never happen to me when it comes to cinema… the passion for cinema remains the same. Earlier, I would constantly provide the fuel so that the car runs well.

Is there one thing you would like to change about him as a director?

Parambrata: Sometimes I feel that he makes films that I think he knows will become successful projects. I remember, before Hemlock Society he was supposed to do something else. Because he encountered something in his own life, it prompted him to actually push that away and do a much smaller film. He definitely had the wherewithal to make a big film after 22shey Srabon. He had that spontaneous passionate thing. Of course, that has happened with some of his other films as well.

Srijit: It happened with Uma. I was supposed to do something else but I was so moved by the news of Evan Leversage… I was moved to tears. Now, I have to move forward onek structurally… I have a company; I have people depending on me. Feluda is all about that passion… ami Hindi film ke na bollam to do this (Feluda’s web adventures). I still make these small shifts… but to some extent things are more regimented now.

Srijit, how do you see Param as a director?

Srijit: I was completely blown away after watching his Shonar Pahar. I was like, ‘Why did you not start with Shonar Pahar?’ But maybe Param had other aspirations then. The Bengali film scenario was slightly different when Param directed his first film (Jiyo Kaka). Param is tremendously mature as a director. He arrived as a director with Shonar Pahar. I rate him very highly after watching Shonar Pahar… he achieved a certain level of finesse.

As an actor, I feel Param has not been utilised properly. Of course films featuring Param are releasing on a regular basis. But is Param satisfied as an actor after working in those films? Sometimes Param gets into autopilot mode as an actor when he is not that invested in the script. As a professional he will execute it… but Param has that spark in his eyes when he is doing 22shey Srabon, Kahaani, Hemlock Society, Kaalbela, Samantaral and Dwitiyo Purush. Param gets less credit as an actor than what he deserves. And to me Param remains Param.

Is there one thing you would like to change about Param?

Srijit: Nothing, I don’t believe in changing people. Whatever he is, that’s him.

Final word on Abir Chatterjee’s role in Dwitiyo Purush! The images of his character have gone viral.

Srijit: People are going crazy over him! He is being called Bangali r jatiyo crush, Bengal’s Jimmy Shergill.

Parambrata: Why Jimmy?!

Srijit: Because Jimmy always loses the girl in every film. He never gets the girl! Abir and Param have tremendous chemistry. I have seen it in Shah Jahan Regency. When Param and Abir are in one room, it is electric (laughs out loud).