Ritwick Chakraborty and Sohini Sarkar on their Bengali film Ranna Baati and more
Actor Ritwick Chakraborty is on a roll, and Sohini Sarkar is not far behind. Long after Bibaho Diaries and Ananta, the duo will be seen again as a couple in Pratim D Gupta’s next, Ranna Baati. We speak with them about their characters, their relationships with food, and handling Gen Zs, a core element of the film. Excerpts:
Ranna Baati, as the film suggests, revolves around food. What is your relationship with food?
Sohini: More than eating, what’s more important to me is how and what I cook for my guests and the way I serve food to my loved ones. That satisfaction on their faces gives me incomparable joy. If I invite people home, I make sure I cook for them and I even try to make the desserts from scratch. It how I like to do it. Interference in my kitchen when I am cooking is a huge pet peeve.
I am not a foodie per se; I like to play it safe. I have a list of cafés. Every time I feel like going out, I go to those very places and order the same dishes. Once, when a favourite café of mine was getting sold, the owner ended up asking if I was interested in buying it from her (laughs). And one more thing, I cannot eat alone.
Ritwick: Oh, bang on! That’s the same for me too. I cannot have a meal alone. I’ve not been able to identify the feelings exactly, whether it is sadness, loneliness or something else, but I don’t like it. Also, food is a matter of satisfaction/comfort for me. I am omnivorous and a light eater.
When it comes to cooking, I can cook almost all Bengali dish, I can bake cakes and other things, but I don’t like to cook. I make breakfast or snacks for my son when he demands them.
Ritwick, your son is almost as old as your onscreen daughter Mohor (Ida Dasgupta). What are your secrets of handling a teenager?
Ritwick: Well, rather than me handling him, it’s more of a journey we share. If he’s a 12-year-old boy, I’m a 12-year-old father. Whenever we have to venture into something new, we do a little background study and learn along the way together. There is a parenting model in my head, the way my parents brought me up, but I have modified it to suit modern times.
What made you choose the film?
Ritwick: I like working with Pratim because he offers me characters nobody else does. I have acted in six of his eight films. Indian actors are mostly bound to get typecast, so anyone who throws you out of that box every time is great to work with. Pratim is one such person for me.
Sohini: I have always liked Pratim’s work. I watched his previous films, congratulated him before, and stayed in touch. This year, he called me and shared the story. The character he offered me was something I hadn’t done before, so I agreed. Also, a collaboration with Ritwick after a long time was incentive enough.
What are your upcoming projects?
Both: We have an upcoming show, directed by Pratim himself, called Karma Korma, which also stars Ritabhari Chakraborty. It is a thriller, but here too, food is the star of the show—though quite differently. We also have a film together alongside Sanjay Mishra, directed by Pritha Chakraborty.
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