It’s been a whopper of a weekend for Tota Roy Choudhury who is basking in the plaudits that he’s been constantly receiving for his winning turn in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani. The Calcutta-based actor — who has featured in quite a few notable Hindi films over the last few years, with the Karan Johar multi-starrer being his biggest yet — has come in for all-round praise for his sensitive, mature and nuanced portrayal of Chandan Chatterjee in the big-budget film that’s been unanimously receiving both box-office returns and public applause.

On the day that the film — that stars Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and our very own Churni Ganguly — released, t2 chatted with Tota over coffee at Hyatt Regency Kolkata on the experience of being a part of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani, being directed by Karan Johar and the way forward.

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani has met with effusive and unanimous praise. What’s been the standout feedback for the film in general and for your performance in particular?

People are loving the film! It started on Tuesday night (July 25) when we had a special screening in Mumbai. There were special screenings on Thursday as well, both in Mumbai and in Calcutta, and then the tsunami started. For me, it’s been a constant barrage of messages, being tagged on social media posts.... Every time anyone is praising the film, all of us are feeling elated because we were part of a great team.

We started this film in July 2021 and worked through lockdowns and postponements, and so over two years, on and off, we were together. We gelled really well as a team. We always believed that the film should work, whether we work individually or not is immaterial. That the film is being unanimously praised is very heartening for all of us.

Out of all the scenes that I have been loved in, people have singled me out for that scene between Ranveer (Singh) and me where I talk about my childhood and my passion for Kathak and that, of course, culminates in the Dola re dola sequence. Many members of my fraternity have also singled out those two moments. Abhishek Bachchan spoke to me... he liked my performance. So did Neha Dhupia. Ananya Panday loved my performance and also Javed saab (Javed Akhtar). Kajol messaged me after watching the film. Vidya Balan called me and after speaking to me, passed on the phone to (husband and producer) Siddharth Roy Kapur who was also effusive in his praise. Anurag Kashyap has also singled out the Dola re dola sequence.

I got a call from Mahesh Bhatt. He told me: ‘I loved your performance! Your Chandan has been haunting me throughout the night. The way you danced and the way you held your dignity amid your tears has moved me.’ At the end of the call, he told me something very beautiful: ‘Keep my words in your memory. All of us face very cold nights in our careers... I hope my words can keep you warm.’ I was moved to tears.

Kaushikda (Ganguly) called me and said how much he loved the small nuances that I have incorporated into the character. Jeet, too, loved my performance and messaged me. Srijit (Mukherji) messaged how proud he was of me. Many of my colleagues from the Bangla industry have messaged me.

How did the film happen to you?

I got a call one evening when I was in Calcutta from Shanoo Sharma, who is a renowned casting director, and she asked me to audition right away. She sent me the sides, it was a great piece, I did it and she said that it was perfect for her and she didn’t need to give me any suggestions. After about half an hour, she called me on video and said: ‘Tota, Karan loved your performance.’ I asked her which Karan, and when she said it was Karan Johar, it still didn’t sink in. I was like: ‘The Karan Johar?! What are you saying?!’ (Laughs)

She told me that Karan sir wanted to meet me within the next two weeks in Mumbai. All of this happened so quickly because he goes by his instincts. Two weeks later I was sitting in front of Karan. He told me the story in brief and a bit of my portions and then he asked me if I wanted to do it (smiles). And my reaction was: ‘Do I want to do it?! This is what I have been praying for to all the cinema gods forever!’ (Laughs)

I told him that I had met him in 2003 after a screening of Chokher Bali in Mumbai, which was my breakout film. After the show, I went up to him and spoke to him about the film and he was very friendly, without even recognising that I was in the film because I was bearded and had long hair in Chokher Bali and offscreen I didn’t. When I later told him I was Behari in the film, he was like: ‘Oh my God! You were that guy?! You were damn good!’ So he spoke to me as a normal person without even knowing I was in the film. That was and continues to be his humanity.

What was it like being directed by Karan?

He’s the kindest and nicest human being I have met in my life so far. He’s all heart. His patience level is huge. We would work 12-hour shifts and even at the 11-hour 45-minute mark, he would still be patient and smiling.

He would be chilled out and say: ‘Aaj nahin hoga toh kal hoga... why are you worrying about it?’ He is zen calm. I have never seen him lose his cool.

He is also not one of those directors who will sit at the console and direct over the mic. Every time a shot wouldn’t be okay, he would come running down and say: ‘Okay, this was nice, but can we do it another way?’ He’s also a terrific actor. The characters that he has designed for this film, he can actually enact all of them! He can be Rocky, Rani, the Randhawas and the Chatterjees together... he’s that good! (Laughs)

The best thing about him as a director is his crystal-clear vision... he knows what he wants and how much of it he wants; he knows what the intonation should be... but he won’t push it onto his actors.

I have learnt so many things from him. He has great empathy for his cast and crew. In spite of all the negativity that he has been facing over the years, he has not lost his positivity.

Being on his set was magical. There are such huge actors in this film. I remember sitting and hearing Dharam saab (Dharmendra), Jayaji (Bachchan) and Shabanaji (Azmi) talking about Sholay and reliving old memories. Being such a huge Sholay fan, it was such a magical moment for me.

What was it like being Chandan Chatterjee who is definitely not a run-of-the-mill Hindi film father? And you also had to learn Kathak for the part....

With co-stars Ranveer Singh, Churni Ganguly and Alia Bhatt in Calcutta last week Pabitra Das

That was the most excruciating bit about this whole process! (Laughs) It was not just about learning the steps... I had to learn a certain posture and body language which I am not used to. I needed to break myself. I had to get in touch with my feminine side. Honestly, I did only about 40 intensive training sessions, divided between Calcutta and Mumbai. I was fastidious about it because Kathak is our legacy, it’s not just a dance form. I didn’t want to make it a caricature....

There is a very thin line....

Very, very thin line. Consciously or otherwise, I had to ensure that I didn’t mess with something which is such an indelible part of our legacy. I would pester my teachers to tutor me more on the smaller steps, the body language.... When I was on stage in both those dance sequences in the film, my body language was different. I was a little more animated and excited, I had a different kind of energy.... That was very consciously done. The fact that Vaibhavi Merchant (the film’s choreographer) started off as a Kathak exponent was a big plus... she took care of all the little things.

Can you describe the energy and vibe of performing to Dola re dola with Ranveer Singh? That scene is now being seen as a watershed moment in the portrayal of subversive masculinity on our screen....

It was in December 2021 when I was sent a choreographed video of the song and told that I was supposed to dance to Dola re dola. I was shocked that I had to dance to such an iconic song. I started having nightmares! (Laughs) I went to Mumbai and slowly started practising, trying to master four steps at a time. Ranveer and I just gelled while doing this, it was instant chemistry.

Even the other dance sequence (in the Punjabi-dominated mehfil) was tough. I had to get the nuances spot-on and focus more on the feminine side. Dola re was quite vigorous and had more energy and was choreographed in a more masculine way than the other Kathak sequence.

Did you have any apprehensions about playing a slightly effete character solely because such characters often tend to get caricaturised in our cinema?

None whatsoever. That’s because I knew that it was being helmed by Karan Johar. I am a director’s actor. My idea about acting is that I am not here to serve myself, I am here to fulfil the director’s vision... and the better I do it, the better I am. I knew that Karan Johar would not allow anything to look caricaturish or something which is not up to the mark. For him, his vision is his passion and I knew I was in safe hands.

I didn’t have any reference to play Chandan and that made him a tricky character. And I gave it my all because for me, doing Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani was playing for the big league.... It was like playing for (FC) Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester United.

This has been your biggest Bollywood film yet. How are you looking at Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani as a springboard to even bigger Hindi projects?

One cannot plan anything for Mumbai, Mumbai plans for you. I am just being loose and ready and seeing what happens. Yes, there has been intent and interest. People have been calling me and are expressing interest, they want to meet for their projects.

But I will never shift my base completely out of Calcutta. For me, life is not just about success in the workspace; if I am not happy in my personal life, then I cease to be productive in my professional life. My happiness lies here, my family is here. I can always go to Mumbai, work for a few days and come back.

I have also worked very hard to create what I have in the Bengali film industry. My Bangla film audience is my core audience, they have built me. My loyalties will always lie with the Bengali audience because they have stood with me always.

The Bangla industry wasn’t always supportive towards me. If they had been, better things could have happened in my career here. I have been sitting in Calcutta for the last 20 years. It’s taken somebody in Mumbai to recognise my talent when the people in the industry here couldn’t. I know that I am quite dependable and I have proved myself every time I have been given an opportunity to showcase my art. I have held my own. If that’s not enough for the industry here, so be it.

Actors like me don’t get to play in the big league often. Sometimes, fate eludes us. There are so many talented actors who have never got the platform they deserve. So when we do get it, we squeeze out every moment of it.

After Chokher Bali, the rest of India woke up to me, but not Bengal. I sat at home for six months without work. So every day that I was on the set of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani was so special and so fulfilling. I will cherish these moments till the end of my life. I want to do work that will create some worth and make my audience look back and say that I have given them some lovely memories.

You have used your name Pushparag in the credits of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani....

Yes, I really wanted to. When I started out, it was just on a whim and my nickname Tota made it to the credits... in fact, I was called Tota in my first film (Duranta Prem). And then, over the years, everyone forgot my name Pushparag. Now, I really want to get back to it. I will be doing a lot more work now and take a lot more risks. I was waiting for this film to come out to see how my career goes forward.

Anyway, I plan to be in films for about 15 years more. After that, I want to do English theatre travelling across the country to perform. I want to travel to hill stations and spend time there and write about the people and food there. One has only one life... one has to make the most of it.