As Saurav Das and Ishaa Saha starrer web series Antormahal directed by Abhrajit Sen starts streaming today on hoichoi, we catch up with Saurav who plays the lead, Indro, in this social drama which explores pregnancy, fertility, and several other associated themes. The actors come together on-screen as a happily married modern-age couple who find themselves stuck in between testing times in their relationship as they start planning for a child.
Excerpts from the conversation…
How did you step into the character of Indro for Antormahal?
It had to do with a lot of brainstorming from the director, writer, creative producer, and my side. We discussed the character, his lines, and how he talks, thinks, and reacts to situations and then it became easy to portray the character.
What is the message Antormahal is trying to give?
The first one is that pregnancy is a two-way game. It’s not only about the woman involved. Second, infertility and impotency are not the same thing. This is a common conceptual mistake. These two are the headliners of the show.
The series deals with the male ego, mental health, and other such themes. This forms layers to your character. Was it mentally taxing to play Indro?
It was not that mentally taxing for me. I have played other characters that were mentally taxing. But understanding the character and the problem that this guy has and from where his complexities are coming from was difficult yet important for me to understand. I hope I have been able to do so.
What is your recipe for a healthy relationship?
Good communication, to start with. The fewer egos involved the better. There needs to be good mental and physical chemistry between the couple and friendship.
If Saurav had a message for Indro, what would that be?
Take a chill pill! It’s as simple as that. There is nothing to stress about so much in life. Everyone has something or the other in life and it’s very normal. Also, one should address it because when the person concerned is not addressing the issue, it is affecting a lot of lives around them.
How was the experience of working with Ishaa who portrayed your wife?
I have worked with Ishaa before and love working with her. I feel she’s very instinctive. She brings a lot of new tools to the table which I react to. It’s all about action and reaction. She acts, I react, and vice versa.
Your upcoming works
I am doing another series with Ishaa now. I did a period film called 1954 directed by Sayantan Mukherjee. There are talks about another film.
Photograph by Pritam Sarkar