Actor Darshana Banik is proving her versatility and winning the hearts of her fans with interesting roles. As her latest film, Surjo, is running in theatres, we catch up with her on her role, her next film, Devi Chowdhurani, and a few other Bangladeshi works
Excerpts:
What made you say ‘yes’ to Surjo?
The story itself and my character in the film – Diya. She has had an inspiring jour ney with several shades. Furthermore, I also wanted to work with Shieladitya (Moulik), the director, since a long time.
Was there an added pressure to perform as the film is an adaptation of the popular Malayalam film?
Not really. Because in every adaptation, Diya’s character has undergone change. In the Malayalam movie, she is a doctor. Here she is an aspiring actor.
Is mental health a central theme explored by your character as well?
Diya is going through depression in the beginning when her track starts and it gradually improves along the way with the help of Surjo.
How different is your character from the real you
Diya comes from a small town with no acquaintance in the industry and starts from level zero. I started as a model before turning to acting.
The much-awaited film, Devi Chowdhurani, is in the pipeline. How excited are you?
I’m very excited. It’s a large- scale film. We shot the movie for 35 days. Bumba da (Prosenjit Chatterjee) is there in the film! And I have always wanted to work with him. Srabanti is also there. It has a great cast and we have great expectations from this project. I hope the audience links with it the way the director has visualised it.
Tell us about your experience of working in Bangladeshi projects.
I have done a web film with Bongo TV which released on July 19, starring Sreelekha Mitra and Shantilal Mukherjee. It’s called Kolkata Diaries and was shot entirely in Kolkata. Last Bakri Eid, I did a natok called Eti Britto. We all like Bangladeshi natoks and I always wanted to be a part of one of them.