Amrita Chattopadhyay on playing Raka in Katakuti 2
Raja Chanda’s web series, Katakuti 2, which sees Subrat Dutta, Amrita Chattopadhyay, Sawon Chakraborty, Pushan Dasgupta in pivotal roles, explores themes of generational trauma, male child abuse and buried truths. It follows a father who, after returning from prison, finds himself in a race against time to save his daughter from a serial killer. Amrita, who plays Raka, speaks with us on Katakuti 2 and more. Excerpts:
Tell us about your character in the show and what made you take up the project?
I play an entertainment journalist. Though she is not involved in the case directly, she goes out of the way to find out details of the case, as she feels that the person, who is thought to be guilty, is innocent. Though her boss feels that her work is hampered because of this, and is also angry. But why is she suddenly taking the news of the crime beat and making a scene? That is the twist one needs to watch the series for.
Firstly, I couldn’t miss the chance of working with Raja Chanda. I was supposed to do my career’s second film with him.We had an initial meeting, and also got an advance. But the film didn't happen finally.
Also, this is my fourth project for KLiKK. All the three previous projects did well, and we already have a comfort zone with the team. So I had to take this up. Notably, I would also like to mention that the profession of my character felt closer to home. I have seen my father and seeing you guys everyday, and thought I could pull this off with ease.
When you get offers, do you have any criteria which decide whether you should take that project up?
I don’t know if I can call those criteria, but I definitely want to see what my character is doing. Because it can happen that you have an ensemble cast, but what matters is whether my character has any impact on the narrative of the script. Even if I have 2-4 scenes, those should be impactful like my character Shahida had in Ranjan Ghosh’s Ahaa Re.
It happens at times that you see the character has importance in the script level, but scenes are edited out later. Have you faced anything as such?
Yes, I have. I had this kind of experience in a web series. In the scene, which I was appreciated for, I found out later that my face was almost not visible, and felt quite like my voiceover.
How do you handle situations like this?
I don't think I can take any other step with that particular director or makers other than just avoiding to work with them.
What projects do you have up next?
I have Abhigyan Mukherjee’s Anumaner Bhittite, which has a great ensemble cast, featuring actors like Lily Chakraborty, Sreelekha Mitra, Rohaan Bhattacharya, Kamaleshar Mukherjee and others. It is not a typical family drama. You might think it to be three separate stories, but all three have a common point somewhere.
Katakuti 2 is currently streaming on KLiKK.
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