Chandan Roy Sanyal is just back from an eight-day shooting schedule of a Bengali film in McCluskieganj, near Ranchi, when The Telegraph catches up with him on the eve of the television premiere of his action film Sanak, co-starring Vidyut Jammwal and Rukmini Maitra, this Sunday at noon on Zee Cinema.
What made you turn director-producer at this point with Suzie Q?
I was writing and making short films for six years now. I made one called Hiroshima which is available online. One called Azaad is on Sony Liv. Another one, titled 35mm, is yet to release. A friend and I co-directed a 14-minute film called So Sicily. We went to Italy and shot it on an iPhone. Another friend joined us from Munich. The film went to a lot of festivals. But making a feature film is more difficult as it involves more money and a bigger team. But all that fell in place for Suzie Q. The shoot is over. I am doing the edit now. My sound designer is in London. So I will travel there, and then to Amsterdam for the background score. There is one song — a lullaby — in the film, which will be a surprise.
Where did you shoot?
We shot in Goa. The whole film was shot in the rain.
Did you also act?
Yes. It’s a dark psychological comic thriller — a fun film. I want to send it to a few festivals. It’s my first feature and I want to do it properly.
Director Buddhadeb Dasgupta passed away recently. You had worked in his Urojahaj and Tope.
Yes. I learnt a bit of film-making from Buddhada also — how he devised his shots, used the trolley… He used long shots and trolley shots without cuts. That kept it fluid. I hope I have been able to use that in my film also. Working with Buddhada was like going to film school. Doing his last film (Urojahaj) as the lead was a big honour for me.
The last year and half were busy for you with two seasons of Ashram, Ray and Sanak.
When Sanak was shot, was it meant for OTT?
Not really. The pandemic hit and the theatres got shut. So Zee Studios and the producer Vipul Shah decided to release it on OTT. It was a big hit on Disney+Hotstar. Now it is coming on television.
Since it is an action film, would you have preferred a theatrical release?
For an action film, the impact would have been 10 times more in the theatre. The other day, I was watching a James Bond film on the flight on my phone. It is just not the same feeling. Sanak is my first action film. I missed the theatre experience. Action films are meant for all, even those who are into arthouse cinema. Guns are blazing, cars are flying, I am suddenly 10 times more powerful, picking up people and throwing them out of the window...
You got to do that as the villain, terrorist group leader Saju Solanki.
Yes. Everything in the hospital that I had taken hostage was running on my order! At home, even my mother doesn't listen to me. (laughs) She is hardly ever excited about my acting but she wanted to see this film as she heard I had done action. In fact, when the director cast me, I asked: “Why are you pitting me opposite Vidyut? No one will believe.” He said: “That’s your challenge.” So I trained with an action director for a while. I am a Delhi boy. My father’s friends saw the film, so did our neighbours in Karol Bagh. I got a different kind of fan following because of the film. I hope now more action films come my way. My parents were happy as they got calls from people who saw it. My father passed away two weeks back. It was the last film of mine that he saw.
Is there a division between the OTT audience and the television audience today?
The television audience would be older people and housewives, or from small towns without access to the Internet. Probably even there, youngsters who have their own mobile phones see it (OTT platforms).
At play: Sanyal with his cats
From your Instagram posts, it seems you are a cat person.
Yeah (laughs). The lane I live in has a lot of cats. There are two in the house, Pani and Rani. I picked them up from the street and they are with me for six years now. Tintin and Dora stay outside. They come for lunch and dinner. They recognise me only when they are hungry. At times, they show me some love!