Her reprisal of a female priestess in Aritra Mukherjee's Brahma Janen Gopon Kommoti got actress Ritabhari Chakraborty a lot of appreciation from the audience and now, she is back in yet another film by Aritra -- Fatafati--- that sees her playing Phullora, a plus-size woman who aspires to be a fashion influencer. Close to being amazing, the Bengali word 'fatafati' is used as the film's title to denote that your curves can't come in the way of your dreams. Ahead of the film's release today, we catch up with Ritabhari to know more.
Did you relate to Phullora at any point?
There is some relatability with Phullora, but she’s not someone whose life I have led. Probably I have been through several kinds of body shaming in my 15 years of career but Phullora is someone who has grown up with no confidence. She’s been told at every step that she is heavy, that’s why she’s ugly and so on. Deep down, she probably believes that she is not good enough and likes to be behind the scenes. I, on the other hand, thanks to my mother, have grown up with a lot of confidence, but again like her, I am a fighter too.
Do you feel there is still a requirement for body positivity messages through media?
There is an ardent need for that at this point. Even when we are promoting this film, the comments section gets filled with negative and hateful comments and body shaming. There is a difference between commenting on someone’s body out of concern, and hailing someone as an 'elephant' or passing derogatory comments like 'If you sit here, the chair’s gonna break'. The latter is insulting and attacking someone personally for their choices. So, that needs to addressed.
Your take on body positivity?
Any body is a good body as long as you are healthy. Someone can be super skinny or have a muscular body and yet have many health issues. Most of the time, we get so obsessed with looking a certain way approved by society, that we forget to take basic care of our health.
If the protagonist is curvy, why does it have to be a talking point? Why can't it be like any normal person?
I don’t know, this is my question too! Curvy or skinny, it’s the need of the character, that’s how the director has perceived it to be. People look like people, and most content-driven films focus on the character more, than how he/she looks, unless it is a larger-than-life character. When I see a Shefali Shah on screen I get very excited about how amazingly she carries the films on her shoulders, or a Deepika Padukone doing an action sequence. But why do I need to point out how they or their bodies look?
Are you conscious of your body?
I used to be a lot more body conscious. Right now my consciousness has come down to health because my body went through a lot post surgeries. Now my only focus is nutrition and health.
What's your experience working with Swastika and Abir?
Swastika is such a sweetheart. Her character Biki Sen is so negative in the film, but I had the best time working with her on the film. Abir Chatterjee is an enigma, for sure. He is always so calm, and sorted, and I used to pull his legs a lot. Our chemistry came out great. You know, most films he does are all about him, but this film is not, still, he chose to be a part of this, and I am extremely thankful for that.
This is your second stint with Aritra, working on stories around social taboos. Do you feel these films help change the general outlook?
Making a film click at box-office is usually the desired result of the team, but then when you get to make an impact in society and open a dialogue, which is food for thought, you realise how real pop culture is and how an actor, a film can bring about a change. Brahma Janen Gopon Kommoti was groundbreaking indeed. This too, we hope will have an impact on the audience.
How is this film relevant in today's time?
Fatafati is extremely relevant because of the vicious trolling on social media nowadays. It needs to be reminded that if you can’t say certain things in real life, you cannot do that virtually on social media either. However, it’s not just about passing comments, it’s about how you look at people. Just because you have an opinion, it doesn’t mean you can offend others. Constructive criticism is welcome but stripping someone of their dignity is not. So, people need to realise the thin line between humour and being offensive.
We have heard what Phullora thinks of being fashionable. What's Ritabhari's take on fashion?
Being comfort chic. I like to wear a lot of fashionable stuff, but I need to be comfortable in all of them. If I am not comfortable and confident in my attire, I won't wear it at all.
You gained 25 kgs for Fatafati. How did you lose again?
I lost it with a very healthy diet and a planned workout schedule. I took six months to lose 19 kgs and my nutritionist Luke Coutinho helped me in the whole journey. He’s still helping me out to complete my journey of losing the extra kilos.
Upcoming projects?
I’ll start shooting for Apanjan in London, with Jeetu Kamal, from May 15. I just shot a kickass song with Nikhita Gandhi and I am super excited for its release.