EXCLUSIVE: Actor Sabyasachi Chowdhury talks about his experience of shooting Jaisalmer Jomjomat
Are you ready to dive into the world of travel, adventure and mystery in Jaisalmer? A tribute to Satyajit Ray’s Sonar Kella, director Arnab Riingo Banerjee’s latest web series Jaisalmer Jomjomat starring Sabyasachi Chowdhury, Meghla Dasgupta, Abhishek Singh and many others is currently streaming. We spoke to Sabyasachi on the web series and more.
Excerpts:
Tell us about your character.
In Jaisalmer Jomjomat, my character has two shades. First is Nilanjan who is a college professor, reserved, introvert, and since he teaches geography he starts spitting facts very often. As the story progresses, one finds out that the person is not that simple after all. Somewhere one starts feeling that the character has another shade. Is that negative or positive? That is for the audience to find out.
It seems your character’s duality has similarities and dissimilarities with you as a person…
I like to read, have high power, and wear specs. In fact, Nilanjan’s spectacles are my own. I like to read up before traveling. I am not a tourist, I consider myself to be a traveler. I travel a lot with my bike. In fact, before we went to shoot at Sonar Kella, I took my bike from Belur Math to Sonar Kella. It was a solo trip.
I took another route while coming back home almost 8-9 states were covered in the journey. Nilanjan is married and his wife’s character is essayed by Meghla. A lot of Nilanjan’s mannerisms match with mine. But yes, every character has a opposite shade which we get to see once in a while, that is also present in Nilanjan.
You have also written dialogues for the series. Sabyasachi as an actor or a writer?
As a writer my book has been published a few years ago. As an actor I have been in the industry a few years prior to that. Earlier I used to write because of passion. Now, I write script and dialogues. Here, when Riingo da told me to write, I first gave an outline of the story. Then Riingo da developed the story and turned it into this massive piece. Most of the dialogues here are family oriented banters. I like writing.
Have you improvised on your own writings while you are acting it out?
Yes! It has also happened that a particular scene may have had to be changed due to absence of location. We had brilliant actors. So there have been parts where instantly we had taken the decision of saying some dialogues which were different from the original script.
What is your fondest memory with the movie Sonar Kella?
When I first watched Sonar Kella I was so young that I honestly did not understand the entirely. After growing up a bit I watched it myself. By then I had read the book. Then I understood the impact of the movie all those years ago. And now, going there myself, the entire city’s economy is standing based on the movie. People still hang the photograph of Satyajit Ray inside their shops because a lot of Bengali crowd go there. And people there say proudly that because of Ray the name Sonar Kella or the Golden Fortress is famous.
What are your thoughts on re-releases? Which movies do you think should be re-released?
Very recently Nayak has been re-released. People have gone to watch it. Joy Baba Felunath is the first Feluda movie I have watched after that was Sonar Kella. These two movies if they are coloured, preserved and shown today, I think it will still pull the audience.
What would be your advice for someone who will embark on a solo travel with their bikes?
Safety comes first. Just because you have a bike, it doesn’t mean that you can travel very far. You need to know your bike. One thing I have always maintained is respecting the motorcycle, respecting the road, and it will respect you back. I believe that every machine has a life. Like you become used to driving a vehicle, the vehicle is also accustomed to who is riding/ driving it. If you think of racing, or doing stunts or losing your cool over the locals who sometimes try to instigate you, the loss is yours. I know my motorcycle inside out. When I travel I go by strict rules. My food and speed are both measured.
Since it’s the 50th year of Sonar Kella, there are other projects which are being made inspired by it. What makes Jaisalmer Jomjomat stand out?
The USP of Jaisalmer Jomjomat is that it has its own story and is in no way directly related to the original plot of Sonar Kella. One might be able to recognise the places in both the movies but the narrative is totally different and will hook the viewer.
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