Actors Subhashree Ganguly and Parno Mittrah open up about their latest outing Dharmajuddha

Raj Chakraborty happens to be one of the most successful filmmakers in the Bengali film industry, and his latest film Dharmajuddha brings together two leading ladies of the showbiz- Subhashree Ganguly and Parno Mittrah. Equally successful in their own expertise of films, the two women have come together in this tale of humanity amidst turmoil, to portray characters from two different worlds who follow separate faiths. We caught up with the ladies to know more about their characters, experience of working with deceased thespian Swatilekha Sengupta and the ever evolving nature of film content.

What defines Munni and Shabnam in Dharmajuddha?

Parno: I play Shabnam and Subhashree comprises the role of Munni. Both of us come from the same area, but have no connections per se until their lives get entangled on a heated night of communal riots. Both come from different faiths and have their own set of backstories. Their lives go for a toss one night, as they take shelter in the same place under heated circumstances and Dharmajuddha narrates the stories of these two individuals from a humanistic perspective. My character Shabnam is a student, who is in love and comes across as a feisty, strong girl who does not gel with a lot of people. However, she goes through her own moment of catharsis like every other character and she slowly transforms from an innocent, feisty girl to someone who can be defined as strong and upfront.

Subhashree: Munni is a very simple girl, who hails from a village and lives a mundane, uncomplicated life with her husband. She is Hindu by birth and almost at the verge of delivering her first child. It is around this time that she falls victim to the riots, and it is all about how she survives the night with absolute strangers. Munni is vulnerable, as she has always been in a protected environment yet she emerges as a strong woman in the face of trouble as her survival instincts kick in, and she realises she has to single handedly protect herself and her unborn baby.

How different are these characters from the ones you have comprised before?
Parno: Coincidentally I was offered Munni first, but swapped to Shabnam after the shooting commenced. Shabnam is completely different from any character audiences have seen me in before. I have played strong women before but not exactly in the lines of Shabnam.

Subhashree: The body language and dialect Munni follows was quite challenging to acquire, as these aspects were completely new. Achieving the exact posture of a heavily pregnant woman, her mental response to such an incident was taxing yet very different from any character I have breathed life into before.

How relevant is the context of Dharmajuddha to the current socio-political scenario?

Parno: I don’t think people head out to watch movies with a particular thought in their minds. Cinema is primarily meant for entertainment purposes. Dharmajuddha will not affect that in any way, but yes there is a subtle relevance. However, I would still stress on the fact that the film isn’t all about communalism; the riot is only a backdrop. The story focuses more on humanity, and not religion.

Subhashree: There’s a particular dialogue in the film that suggests the ill effects of a communal riot. It translates into- “If these differences and warfare doesn’t stop, the world will only be left with religious shrines but no one to worship them”. No human being is born with the concept of class, caste and religion, all of it is acquired. Dharmajuddha delves deep into the identities of a human being beyond these definitions.

This happens to be Swatilekha Sengupta’s last shot, and last released film. How was it working with the theatrical legend?

It was such a fabulous experience, as we got to learn so much beyond acting nuances. I remember she was unwell at that point as well, but would never get exhausted. It was the month of September, and extremely humid as it is in Kolkata. We were shooting in a house that was entirely covered in black cloth that increased the temperatures inside. Yet she had minimal complaints, would climb up and down the stairs and sit there itself between shots, instead of going back to her van. The passion and dedication is something, no actor will get to learn in film school and it was extremely humbling to work with her.

Subhashree: I have seen her magnificence on stage and was quite self-doubtful about living up to expectations while working with her. However, she was extremely encouraging and accommodating. She left no stone unturned when it came to praising us about our skills as well.
 

Do you think stereotyping is quite a prevalent thing in the industry?

Parno: What usually happens is, if you suit a particular role well, or have executed it successfully, directors working on similar scripts will have you on your mind while picturising the character.

Subhashree: It’s more like, since the filmmakers have already seen a particular actress comprising a specific type with ease, they can’t think of anyone else in similar shoes.
 

Have you considered directing films in the near future?
 

Parno: I have been trying to write a script for the last seven years now, but failed miserably each time. Scripting is very difficult, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea.

Subhashree: I don’t have any plans as such. I am definitely a part of our production house, and produce a lot of films. We will soon be working on a Hindi project, for which I will be donning the producer’s hat.

How has film content evolved over the years?

Parno: I am not exactly sure if it’s for the good or bad, but films have become more content driven. Somewhere, I think we used to make better films earlier and I miss the kind of scripts I started off with. People don’t want to experiment much these days, instead they want to cater to a certain kind of audience and stick to safe genres and preferences that have already worked well.

Subhashree: There has been a huge shift. Back in 2007, around the time I debuted, we witnessed a massive craze amongst audiences for any sort of commercial movie that hit the screens. I think it was a golden era of Bengali commercial films. Film content is changing all across the world, and the Bengali industry is in its trial phase of changing content.