Long before he made his Hindi film debut as Assistant Sub-Inspector Satyoki Rana Sinha in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani in 2012, Parambrata Chatterjee was already a known name in the Bengali television and film industry.
He started his career with Bengali television before moving on to films. He has acted in many television series, tele-films, short films and films. His directorial debut feature film Jiyo Kaka (2011) was with Rituparna Sengupta and Rudranil Ghosh. His second directorial venture was Hawa Bodol (2013). Parambrata has also worked with Academy Award-winning Jeffrey D Brown, for his film Sold. While he has already worked with some notable filmmakers and in some critically acclaimed films, Parambrata tells us that he has a long list of names he is waiting to work with.
From what influences his choices of films to his interest in making films way before he became an actor, Parambrata opens up about it all during a conversation at the Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films – Select Films, Select Conversations, a platform he calls “incredible.” He adds, “It’s one of the best platforms to be born out of social media or internet revolution that has happened in the last 10 or 15 years. I think even before the OTT boom in our country, it’s Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films which got us acquainted with the idea of telling a story within a shorter format.”
Excerpts from our conversation:
You belong to the family of Ritwik Ghatak! Was it inevitable that you would end up entering and then making a mark in the film industry?
I never meant to. Until I was about 15 years of age, it wasn’t inevitable. When I was 15 or 16, then yes, I wanted to start making films, but not act at all. I think since my teens, it had kind of become inevitable or at least that is what I personally wanted to do, there is no doubt about that. Whether it was inevitable or not, I can’t really say (laughs).
How has growing up among film critics influenced your choice of films later in life?
My awakening to more popular cinema happened as I started working in the popular mediums like television, and eventually in films. I got enriched by my parents and their lineage and the kind of work they did, the kind of films they liked watching. My sensibilities about cinema were created by such discussions. That was the good side of it. The not-so-good side of it was that it had alienated me from popular Indian cinema, which I woke up to much later when I started working as an actor on television.
From television to Bengali films and then into Bollywood, you fit into the definition of ‘slow and steady wins the race.’ What do you see in a script/story before you give your nod?
Coherence. If I am offered something as an actor, I try to gauge whether at the end of it (film or the series), people will remember this particular character, and whether the character that is being offered to me has a significant contribution towards making an impact on the audiences’ mind.
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Tell us about the artistes (directors, actors) who you have loved working with and why. Please share anecdotes.
All of them, honestly, because of different reasons, but if I have to name, then Sujoy Ghosh, who has such a wonderful sense of being able to tell a story which is exciting for a pan Indian audience while it is still very rooted to his own milieu which is often Bengali milieu. Also Prosit Roy for his radical vision, and Nikhil Advani for his sheer power and command over the craft.
Who are the people you are waiting to work with?
Hansal Mehta, Vishal Bharadwaj, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Anurag Kashyap and I talk a lot, but we haven’t managed to work yet! I really like Reema Kagti’s work, as well as Zoya Akhtar’s. I can actually go on and on with names of people I want to work with!
Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
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