This has been a good year for Swastika Mukherjee. “Bijoyar Pore travelled to film festivals and was screened across the country. Bijoya was huge and Tekka is a blockbuster. Nikhoj 2, another most-awaited work of mine, will also come out soon,” smiled Swastika, who has garnered a lot of praise for her portrayal of Ira in the Durga Puja release Tekka, directed by Srijit Mukherji. A t2 chat with Swastika...

People are talking about Iqlakh, Ira and Maya from Tekka. But do you remember, your character was called Mahamaya in Srijit’s Jaatishwar...

True! Nice observation.

Let’s take a deep dive into some of your scenes from Srijit’s films. One particular scene from Jaatishwar, where Mahamaya, who is a popular radio jockey, gets into an argument with her boss played by Srijit, has become very popular on social media. Do remember the details of that scene?

Srijit gives me this absolute nerve-wracking task of saying my lines non-stop from start to finish. I had to do the same thing in Shah Jahan Regency... while delivering such monologues he’d tell me to say it in one breath like I know it at the tip of my finger. The character might know all but I don’t (smiles). That scene from Jaatishwar still makes the rounds on social media.

I rehearsed a lot since I wanted to give the impression that my character knew everything. I had to memorise lots of names and give comparisons. There were rhyming surnames, and names placed together for a reason. Every word in Srijit’s scripts has a meaning. Everything has a story, everything has a logic. I shot for that film in 2013 and I still remember the dialogues. My brain stores so much unwanted information (smiles).

How has Srijit changed as a writer-director over the years?

Since he reads so much, as a writer, he had a tendency to pack in so much information into a script. Now Srijit has realised that less is more. He is an intelligent filmmaker; he is very well-read. He doesn’t need to make a mark in all these areas. He likes to keep it more simple now; to make it crisp. He focuses more on the human side of the narrative... on the emotions which will connect with people.

Let’s talk about shooting your character’s death scene in Shah Jahan Regency. We heard that it took quite a few hours... you were lying on the top of the car in the rain.

And that was real rain. The production had to bring out as many umbrellas as they could find. I was feeling extremely cold... my legs were folded, and my arms were at a weird angle to make it look real. I could not move at all. I remember asking for a tarpaulin to cover me since I was shivering. And then I could hear my sister howling. There was fake blood around and it was an uncomfortable sight. After the scene was over, I could not get down... I had to be carried off. The scenes with Mamata Shankar and Parambrata... we shot them back-to-back.

While I was shooting for Shah Jahan Regency I was also shooting for Dil Bechara, which was happening in Jamshedpur. The schedules collided and I was travelling to Jamshedpur from Calcutta and back. One day I started shooting a very important scene with Mamata Shankar around 6pm... and then Param and I started shooting our scene at 2am. I had to deliver my best in that scene. There was a lot of pressure because of the performance. We packed up at 4.30am and my train from Howrah to Jamshedpur was at 6am. And my call time there was 9am. I slept on the train. It was maddening.

Did something similar happen during the shoot of Tekka?

It was chaotic. It is a big film; the canvas is huge. There was so much happening all the time. There was a hostage situation, kidnapping, policemen, special security forces... the set was chaotic. And Ira is in panic mode. A phone call comes saying that her daughter has been kidnapped. So she is a mother who has lost her s**t completely. I don’t have any light scenes in the film. Her anxiety mode is at an all-time high. We rehearsed certain scenes for four to five hours. The mis-en-scene was so complicated and so much was happening. There were cameras in our building and outside our building. Communication was happening on the walkie-talkie.

What was your headspace after the shoot was over?

I was sad. Life was so eventful and there was so much of chaos all around.

Do you give suggestions or ask questions during a shoot?

I am not an actor who asks a lot of questions... who wants to find the character’s motivation. I don’t think about what is the thought behind something. Why am I coming from here, going there, sitting, dancing... I don’t want to waste my energy knowing all this. Once I get the script, I have the lines inside my head. Even if I dub for a film after one year, I remember my lines. Srijit is a director who wants his actors to come prepared on set. I come to the set fully prepared. I then focus on my performance. I understand a director’s vision and tell him what I am thinking before I go to the set.

Once we are in sync, I go to the set. Then it is my job to perform like it is the last day of my life. Nothing else matters at that moment when I am in front of the camera. The world shuts around me. That is how I prepare. Srijit gave me a lot of freedom to explore Ira as a mother in a new way. I have played a mother in so many films, so it was a challenge for me to play Ira. We all have that anger, the violent streak inside us. Of course, you will reach there only if you are triggered. Ira was triggered and she is a single parent.

Would you like to do a love story directed by Srijit?

Yes. I am craving it. When Srijit and I collaborate on a film, it really has to be impactful. He can handle love stories really well.

Do you remember the phase when Dev burst onto the scene in 2006?

I believe that Dev is the last superstar. He is so enigmatic. Heroes need to look and feel larger than life. The audience needs to believe that they are larger than life and Dev has that aura and personality... with his height and physique, his dancing and action skills. If he walks into a place, I will look at him. As a producer, he is very thoughtful, and mindful... the care shows.

Would you like to do a commercial film with Dev?

Of course (smiles). I want to do one proper item song in his film. It will be shot properly and I’ll look like a diva. Ninety out of 100 scenes will be with him in the film! I want to do one song-and-dance... on the beach or in the mountains.