Prosenjit Chatterjee’s latest film Devi Chowdhurani released in theatres on Friday to a positive response. The actor has another reason to celebrate as he turns a year older today. Chatterjee spoke about his latest film and his birthday in an interview with us.
Birthday boy Prosenjit Chatterjee on his preparation for Devi Chowdhurani, “I kept myself away from everything for two months”
This birthday your new film Devi Chowdhurani is shining in the movie theatres
It’s always a blessing for an actor to play a historical character, and that too adapted from such a big novel which has been a part of every Bengali household and that too written by somebody like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, who created Vande Mataram .
This is not your first tryst with Bengali literature
I am blessed that I have acted in a screen adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Chokher Bali. But after even doing around 400 films, I didn’t get a chance to do a film where it’s written by none other than Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. That was my first emotion.
The character is a feminist from a time even before the term was invented
My character, which is Bhawani Pathak, if you Google you will know the strength of the character which is, of course it’s 250 years back. It’s not just a Bengali subject. He is sanyasi rebel who fought against British specially when they were heading to Kolkata to make it India’s capital and they were working. They were really exploiting these Zamindars and in 1770 there was one of the biggest, Mannantar (famine) where 75% people in West Bengal people died, and that was a history. This man stood and he fought and then, of course, he discovered a very innocent girl whom he made into a legend.
How much preparation went into playing this character?
I will say it was difficult and challenging because this is a person who is very spiritual, who is a Kalima Sadhak. At the same time, he is a warrior. I really enjoyed and I took a lot of time because I feel as an actor, I really wanted to be out of my regular lifestyle. I kept myself away from everything for around two months. I think this kind of a character is not about physical strength. It’s mental strength and that’s the reason after a certain age he wanted to have another leader in his team and fortunately, I mean, that was the search but he somehow got this girl, a young girl whom he thought she can be the Maa, she can be the mother of this entire ‘dacoit’ team or whatever. The Britishers used to tell them dacoits but they were like more of a Robin Hood.
So quite a challenge?
I really enjoyed and it’s always been a challenge and I have been taking these challenges. As an actor, in last 13-14 years especially, I’ve touched everything, all kinds of characters. I’ve done Subhash Bose, I’ve done Lalan Fakir, I’ve done Himanshu Roy, those characters represent a history that itself is a pressure for an actor. I always enjoy doing this and I love doing it and whatever I do, I try to do myself with a lot of sincerity and I have done.
Do you look forward to your films being released during the Durga Puja?
Bengalis wait for this particular festival and there are a lot of films coming, but all the films have their own space, I believe. And this is a time where particularly after Saptami people, they all go to the theatres and it’s a time to enjoy for them, it’s just a real utsav. We are planning an all-India release. I think Devi Chowdhurani is not just a Bengali film. It’s a film which can cater to all kinds of an audience. And you also know that long back Satyajit Ray wanted to do this film.
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