Blurring of the north-south divide and integration of south film industries and Bollywood in pan-Indian films is not a fresh phenomenon anymore. But Kalki 2898 AD has struck a different chord with Bangla cine-goers as it features Saswata Chatterjee in a key role. The Nag Ashwin directorial sees the versatile and much-revered actor playing the role of Commander Manas, who serves as Supreme Yaskin’s (essayed by Kamal Haasan) aide.
Saswata, who shot to fame in Bollywood with his portrayal of the menacing contract killer Bob Biswas in Kahaani, is currently shooting for Khakee: The Bengal Chapter with Bangla superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee. News18 Showsha exclusively catches up with Prosenjit, who heaps praises on his co-star for his sinister act in Kalki 2898 AD. “I haven’t been able to watch it yet because I was busy shooting for Khakee and with some promotions in Kolkata. But I really want to watch it. I’m so happy for Saswata,” he tells us.
He goes on to reveal that the makers didn’t resort to a dubbing artist for Saswata’s dialogues in the Telugu version of the film as they were impressed with his linguistic skills. “It’s such a big film. Saswata is a great actor. What makes me very happy is the fact that there wasn’t anyone else who dubbed his lines in Telugu. The makers said that they’re okay with it and that they would go ahead with him dubbing his own lines,” Prosenjit shares.
The 61-year-old, who’s waiting for the offer of an ‘exciting’ pan-Indian film to come his way, adds, “That’s the reason I feel that language is no barrier today unlike what it was earlier. Bengali actors like Saswata and Jisshu (U Sengupta) are getting huge exposures now and are doing some fantastic work. Malayalam actors are doing Hindi films. Marathi actors are doing south films. We’ve started watching Iranian films and Spanish shows.”
But why has the Bangla film industry not risen to national prominence like the south? “We do make mainstream films but our basic positioning is that we make sensible films because our literature was very strong. We carry the legacy of (Satyajit) Ray, (Ritwik) Ghatak and (Mrinal) Sen. Then came Ritu (Rituparno Ghosh), Aparna Sen and Goutam Ghose. We’re known to be serious storytellers. But I admit that it has to change,” opines the Jubilee and Shanghai actor.
According to him, Bangla filmmakers should focus on making local stories with a wider appeal. “When Mani Ratnam sir and Ritu made Roja and Chokher Bali, people all over the country had watched them. The idea was never to make a pan-Indian film. Kantara was a very honest film and it could have been made in any language. They never decided on making a pan-Indian film but it was loved by Indians. And that’s something we need to do. We’re trying too but it’s also about timing. One fine day, a Bangla film will come and break all language barriers,” says Prosenjit who’s hoping to do the same with Devi Chowdhurani, an Indian-UK co-production he recently wrapped up.
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