For emerging filmmaker Promita Bhowmik, the passion for making films runs so deep, that she is ready to forego all other trappings of good life. A tenacious maker with no roots in the Bengali film industry, moving from one film to the other has been an uphill task indeed, and being a woman added to the pressure further. After three short films including Apeksha, Porichoy and Probaho, Promita is back with her debut feature film, Ahana that revolves around the life of a female author and her journey through a troubled marriage, professional turmoil and social taboos.
National Award-winning actor Sudipta Chakraborty, who also acted in the short film Porichoy, plays the lead. We got hold of Sudipta and Promita for a hearty chat. Excerpts.
Tell us about Ahana.
Promita: Ahana is a film based on an author from Kolkata and the film intends to show a few pages out of her life, giving us a glimpse of the story behind her success and reactions of people to it in a patriarchy. What she faces, how she proceeds and how the journey moulds her, all of this is shown in a few days’ tale. The film also holds a mirror to the Indian society and the existing social taboos.
I never thought of anyone in particular for the role when I wrote the script in 2019. Later, I thought I wanted someone whose personality is a little different than others. I never needed a very pretty face for this, rather wanted someone with a strong personality, and Sudipta fits the bill.
Sudipta: I always have great respect for women, who are doing great jobs in their respective professions. The female gaze, which is sadly lacking barring a few sensitive directors, is very important for films not to turn lopsided. When Promita came with this script I said yes, because I was free at that time, and also, because I love working with debutant directors. I have worked with so many of them including Kamaleswar Mukherjee, Utsav and Aditi Roy.
Being an actor and a teacher, how do you prepare for a character? Do you follow methods?
Sudipta: I am not a method actor. I make others do homework but I never do that – there’s a dichotomy in the whole thing (laughs).
Also, when I coach or train my students, I apply no method and simply emphasise on understanding the psychology of the character that they are playing. I do that myself too. I try to feel it and go deeper. Everything about the character is not fleshed out in the script and as an actor, one has to put that extra effort to bring the character alive on screen.
Have you taken a few pages from your journey as an author while fleshing out Ahana?
Promita: Not only me, but I have seen several authors, no matter how successful they are, having very universal crises with which they can relate. And why only authors? The plot of the film is such that any woman will relate to it. The film will do festival rounds from April and I will put all my strength together as a producer too, to release it in theatres.
How do you look back at your acting journey so far?
Sudipta: I came here knowing fully well that it’s an unpredictable profession, so, I didn’t come with high hopes for fame and money. We came out of love for acting and never calculated the outcomes, I have never been able to sell myself as an actor -- I always thought my work would speak for me.
Your film Scavengers of Dream just did rounds of Busan and MAMI. How was the experience?
Sudipta: It was an overwhelming response from the audience at both the festivals. It is a very experimental film which had only an idea that Shardul (Bharadwaj, actor) and I brought to life. To make it real life, we also went collecting garbage from the households every day at the crack of dawn. We went to places where they gathered and listened to their stories and followed their lives and daily chores. But they are not a sad lot despite all the struggle, they are happy with little things in life.
You just completed shooting for Aapish, a film by Sudeshna Roy and Abhijit Guha.
Sudipta:Yes, I play a woman who travels from the outskirts to work as a nanny. The mother (played by Sandipta Sen) of the child goes to work keeping her son under her vigilance. Things come to a standstill for the mother professionally when my character cannot continue for some personal reasons. The story takes off from how they decide to set things right since both need to work.
Your other upcoming releases?
Sudipta:There’s Bhootpori releasing today, Porshi by Chandrashish Roy and Kaushik Ganguly’s debut Hindi film Manohar Pandey. There’s also another upcoming one with Kaushik, where I play a housewife who wants to do a job and how it changes the dynamics in the family. I am also going to play Prabha Devi in a biopic on Sisir Bhaduri to be directed by Reshmi Mitra.