He’s been neck deep in work all through the year, helping people, providing aid during the pandemic and shooting for his films. Golondaaj was a huge hit this year, and his film Tonic is now running in theatres. But a birthday demands a breather, some we-time with family and close friends, and a chat with The Telegraph! Over to heart-throb-star-MP Dev, who turns a year younger today.
A moment from Tonic, which is running in theatres now.
Happy birthday! What are your birthday plans?
It’ll be all about Tonic and its release! It is a film that is very close to my heart. People are praising the film. Also, we’ll be starting the shoot of Kacher Manush soon with Bumbada (Prosenjit) and we are prepping for that. It is a big film for our production house. We’ll be shooting in real locations. The recce, homework, workshop, look and feel... everything is going on. I am focused on the pre-production of Kacher Manush.
Your film Saajbati released in December. Tonic has also released. How important is it for you to have a Christmas release, given that audiences tend to visit theatres more to watch films during the festive season?
All my Christmas releases have done really well. Touchwood. Somewhere I feel that the fans have been kind to me. And every year I try to give them something new, something exciting. That is why I try to experiment... that is why I want to try out different things. Take the example of the last two films of mine — I had played two completely different characters. One was a house help (in Saajbati) and the other was Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikary (in Golondaaj). I could pull off both convincingly and people liked both the performances immensely. In Tonic, I play a travel agent. In my next film Kishmish, I look like a school boy and a college student.
Also, with a Christmas release comes new challenges. My Chander Pahar released with Dhoom 3 in the theatres. So there is always this added pressure. We have to fight with the big Hindi films. A festive occasion means multiple releases and one has to prove oneself every time. We have to lead from the front... which is why it becomes my responsibility also... to see to it that our audiences love our stories, engage with our Bengali films and flock to the theatres to watch it. It has been challenging throughout.
Growing up, was there a tradition in your home of watching films during Christmas?
Not really... as a kid I didn’t see many films. Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! was the first film I saw in the theatre in Bombay. I actually started watching films from college. We had a gang of friends in Pune, and from there I developed a habit of watching films on the first day first show. I watched Lagaan 10 times in theatres.
What’s your fave birthday memory?
My father making biryani, and my school friends coming over. We would have a really nice time. Those days were a lot of fun. Since I was the one staying at home, some of my friends would tell their parents that they are at my place. In reality they’d probably go out somewhere else. Their parents would call on the landline and I would have to say something. My friends would then call back and talk to their parents. Once I started doing films, I have shot for many films on my birthday. I like that... working on my birthday.
What was the meaning of a birthday for you, say 10 years ago?
The meaning keeps on changing... evolving. Ten years ago, I would get details of the box-office collection of my films, I would get to hear information on the songs of my superhit films and in which para they were being played. One of my films did more than Rs 4 crores in the first week itself at the box office. Accolades and appreciation was coming in and I was revelling in that. Now, birthdays mean taking on more responsibilities. And I feel it is important to spend the time with my family and my friends... people who care for me genuinely, people who don’t judge me. In the past I had been betrayed, so I am careful now.
Do you set goals for yourself on your birthday?
I would like to help people. It is not to prove anything to anyone. It is something that I genuinely feel. In the last two years we have seen and experienced so many things. People were going through such stressful times. And at the same time, I feel we have to all come together and help each other. I would like to inspire and motivate people to reach out and lend a helping hand. It is important to listen to your conscience.
What about professional goals?
I would like to see the Bengali film industry among the top three of India. Now you see Bollywood doing all these boxing films. But we had done Chaamp so many years ago. For Cockpit, we did a music launch on a flight!
Any change that you are noticing?
So many new producers are coming in now. If they would have come six years ago, maybe I would not have felt the urge to turn producer. Of course, I became a producer because I wanted to tell stories in my way, stories which I connect with. I have realised that there’s no point in being restless. It is a game where you wait and watch.
You were restless five years ago...
I still have the creative restlessness when it comes to cinema. And that’ll always be there.
When it comes to producing, what interests you now?
Give me something that I have not done, be it a character or story.
You shared some amazing pictures from your trip to Iceland recently....
I love to travel and it was there on my bucket list for a long time. I felt winter was the right time to go there. It was really cold... it was tough. It was a different kind of cold. I saw ice breaking off from glaciers. I was at the Diamond Beach in Iceland (a black volcanic sand beach where icebergs from the glacier lagoon drift ashore). It was a different experience altogether. I went to see a volcano that had erupted a few months ago. I heard that someone or the other is related to someone else in Iceland. There are online apps to guide people... you search the details there before you date someone. Also, they know each other by their names.
Do you feel it is a viable place to shoot a film there?
I don’t think so. From a production point of view, it is an expensive place. One has to take different flights to reach there. Viewing the Northern Lights was spectacular. I was carrying my camera and took quite a few shots to capture the moment. I’ll treasure the memory forever. It was really lucky that I got to see it. It felt magical.