Indraneil Sengupta on playing Feluda again in 'Nayan Rahasya'
The smart, suave actor Indraneil Sengupta is all set to play Feluda on screen for the second time in Sandip Ray’s Nayan Rahasya. We recently met the actor for a freewheeling chat on Feluda, how he craves out-of-the-box roles, and more. Excerpts:
How do you feel playing such an iconic character again?
I feel wonderful, and the feeling has remained the same since the day I was chosen to play Feluda. The pressure is a little less, though. In Hatyapuri, since it was our first film as the trio (Indraneil as Feluda, Ayush Das as Topshey and Abhijit Guha as Jatayu), we were worried about whether the audience would accept us. This time around, it’s just about how good a film we have made and how better we have become.
Please share some anecdotes from the shoot.
There were just two hiccups when we started shooting. I was injured at that time. I wasn’t even sure that we could start shooting on the same day, since I had a bad groin muscle tear. But even with that, we managed to shoot, keeping the action or rapid movement sequences minimal. There was only one scene where I had to launch two punches. It was a very simple scene, but because of the limitations, it was getting a little difficult. But we managed somehow.
Once in Chennai, we were supposed to shoot a schedule, but Sandip Ray fell ill and we had to do it later in another schedule.
Which sleuth characters are your favourite, apart from Feluda?
In Bengali, Byomkesh. But if you ask me across languages, I would say Sherlock Holmes and maybe Hercule Poirot.
Feluda is probably one of the dream roles for Bengali actors. What other genre or characters would you love to play?
I never had a dream role. As an actor, I should be able to play any kind of role. Feluda was the only character that ever crossed my mind that I would love to play, and he is also the only character for whom I have approached a director. And it has been a long journey of six-seven years since the time I expressed my desire.
It’s true that I don’t have a wishlist, but I would like more people to cast me in out-of-the-box characters in which I don’t fit in just like that. I am an urban person, living in a cosmopolitan city, and it’s very easy to cast me in certain roles since I will fit right. I would rather people think of me for roles that are different. In Bengali cinema, no one casts me as a rustic character or someone who belongs to the lower strata of society. It is easy for me to step out of the car in a film, but I would also like to walk with a jhola. I am ready to transform myself, but it’s just that casting in India is extremely unimaginative and stereotypical.
What else is there in your pipeline?
The Broken News season 2 has just started streaming on ZEE5. I have done a nice indie film, directed by Tannishtha Chatterjee and starring Kirti Kulhari, Monica Dogra, and Sharib Hashmi. I am looking forward to Puratawn as well. I am also playing a small role in Ajay Devgn Productions’ Maa, which stars Kajol.