After three years of wait, filmmakers Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy are back with Haami2, a part of their most popular franchise. One of the most successful films in Tollywood, Haami had the audience in splits with its unadulterated humour taking cues from everyday life. Starring Shiboprosad and Gargee RoyChowdhury as Laltu and Mitali, the film also stressed upon the need to let our children be as they are – innocent and loving. This time too, Laltu and Mitali are back with a very relevant subject around turning our children into prodigies for the sake of reality shows and social media.
Ahead of its release today, we get chatty with Gargee and Shiboprosad about the pressures of social media, the film and more.
How different and alike are Laltu and Mitali as a couple?
Shiboprosad: Laltu is very protective about the children and pampers them a lot while Mitali is the strict parent, who is practical and believes that her child should aim for the best and knows what she needs to do for her children.
Gargee: Mitali knows that she has to ensure that her children do their best and Laltu is a bit slack in that regard. But in the end, somehow, Laltu and Mitali complement each other. Laltu is also very reflective and intelligent in his own ways and is the kind of person whom you would like to fall in love with.
How much of Laltu and Mitali are you in your real lives?
Shiboprosad: At times my own wife gets scared that I am becoming more like him (laughs).
Gargee: Shiboprosad has that fun element of Laltu.
Shiboprosad: And Gargee is exactly like Mitali. When she talks to me too sweetly I get scared (laughs).
What are the qualities in real life that you admire about each other?
Gargee: He is frills-free, focussed and systematic. He is also very demanding as a director and knows what he wants. As an actor, I feel extremely comfortable working with him because I know what he is capable of and even if we don’t rehearse together, our chemistry comes out so well on screen.
Shiboprosad: She is very honest and straightforward and a class actress who can emote without the help of dialogues.
Gargee: I have a very serious face and it was Shibu and Nandita who tapped the funny part in me. No one could realize that I can be used in a character with fun shades.
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The film deals with the ill effects of social media and reality shows.
Shiboprosad: It shows where we are headed as a society. People will be shocked to see themselves in the characters. There’s a scene where a mother dances because her son has got viral on social media -- the scene is apparently funny but will hit you to the core.
How do you handle social media and trolls?
Shiboprosad: You have to decide which thing and how will you share on social media. I never share anything apart from work. The more you get personal the more is the chance of getting trolled and losing your peace of mind. I don’t need a million followers.
Gargee: You need a bit of awareness and restraint to handle social media. It’s really sad to see how adults and children are completely turning into different and poorer versions of themselves due to social media addiction.
Shiboprosad: Haami 2 addresses all these issues and more but in a very light and humourous manner.
How do you grow as actors?
Gargee: When I give my shot, I still feel like I am a novice and I still get scared. If you lose your innocence, you are finished as an actor. I feel I am still a learner.
Shiboprosad: Both Gargee and I have solid theatre backgrounds. When I was in Nadikar, we were taught to enact a particular scene in five different ways everyday. That’s not possible if one doesn’t mingle with people and observe them. Just like a writer or a painter, the actor too needs to keep in touch with reality and mix with people from all strata, otherwise, you will not find the language to emote.
Haami2 is running in theatres now