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Kolkata is our greatest teacher: Dibakar Banerjee
Jul 30, 2013, 12.00AM IST TNN[ Satadru Ojha ]Sushant Singh Rajput and Dibakar Banerjee at Flurys
Dibakar Banerjee and Sushant Singh Rajput on recreating the '40s Kolkata for their Bomkesh flick
Your Bomkesh is set in the 1940s. Interestingly, Flurys, where we are sitting right now, was an institution even then. So continuity shouldn't be problem in Kolkata, right?
Dibakar: But like the rest of India, Kolkata too has changed over the past 20 years. Buildings have been torn down, much of its past beauty is gone... But in my film, I hope to capture the beautiful and thrilling city that has been lost for ever. I can do that because no other city has preserved its links with its past like Kolkata. So you walk into the police commissioner's office and he turns out to be an antiquarian and speaks for an hour about the police force in the '40s. At the port trust, the head of securities is an antiquarian and a literary enthusiast. We talk for an hour about the comparative merits of Feluda and Bomkesh. Then he gives me a history of the port trust, which he has helped write. In no other city are people so conscious of their history. Sushant: This is actually my first long visit to Kolkata. I've come here only twice before, and that too for a day. I'm very fortunate that my introduction to this city is happening through Dibakar. As an actor, I've always wanted to do different roles and this will be a great experience.
When he offered you Bomkesh, did that ring a bell?
S: I knew Bomkesh has been done before and that he is one of the most loved Bengali fictional characters. There's a sense of responsibility. Everyone who knows Bomkesh should be able to relate to my portrayal. On the other hand, for everyone who doesn't, I should be able to introduce Bomkesh to them.
Is Dibakar being a hard taskmaster?
S: Oh no, he's very open. We are sort of discovering Bomkesh together. All his knowledge about Kolkata and it's history is helping me build the character.
D: I'm a probashi Bangali. Though the language is the same, there are differences, the same that you'd see between Australians and Englishmen. Sushant and I decided that the first thing we needed to do was understand what being a Bengali means. For me, it's inside. But Sushant is forming his own conclusions. (Turning to Sushant) What is the essence of a Bengali?
S: The one thing that stands out is the ease with which they warm up to you. There's an openness, which is hard to find in metros like Delhi or Mumbai.
But the Bengali has always been caricatured in Hindi films. He wears a dhoti, speaks bad Hindi and is terribly lazy. How will you get away from that?
D: There will be absolutely no caricature. In fact, one of the first things that Sushant asked me was, how do I talk? I simply told him, when you say your lines in Hindi, within the conceit of the film, you're actually talking in Bengali. In Gladiator, Russell Crowe is speaking in English. But he's actually supposed to be speaking in Latin, right? It's the same thing. Making Sushant's Hindi accented would defeat the whole purpose.
Tell us about the research that went into this film, Dibakar.
D: It's been on for the past year. The next six months will go into preparations for recreating the Kolkata of that time. There are workshops, the script has to be refined. The visual effects will be huge. We're going on the floors in January. But Kolkata will be our first workshop instructor, our biggest teacher. Each of our walks through Kolkata over the past few days in a workshop. When Sushant sat down and ate fish and rice at a Bengali home, that was a workshop.
How was the Bengali meal, Sushant?
S: Oh, it was like a complete sequence! First laal saag, dal, shukto, parwal bhaja, then fish and mutton. Finally, rosogolla and mishti doi (laughs).
Tell us about recce experiences.
D: We are exploring different facets of the city. If you read the early Bomkesh stories, you'll notice they are situated on the borderlines of white town and black town. It's the land where ethnicities meet. So we're looking at Park Street, Bhowanipore, Tiretta Bazar, Chitpore Road, Chandni, Bow Barracks... Those are the interesting, colourful, mysterious and dangerous areas of that time. Our backdrop is wartime Kolkata, when blackmarketeers, smugglers and narcotic peddlers. The film will explore the city's underbelly of the '40s.
Your Bomkesh is set in the 1940s. Interestingly, Flurys, where we are sitting right now, was an institution even then. So continuity shouldn't be problem in Kolkata, right?
Dibakar: But like the rest of India, Kolkata too has changed over the past 20 years. Buildings have been torn down, much of its past beauty is gone... But in my film, I hope to capture the beautiful and thrilling city that has been lost for ever. I can do that because no other city has preserved its links with its past like Kolkata. So you walk into the police commissioner's office and he turns out to be an antiquarian and speaks for an hour about the police force in the '40s. At the port trust, the head of securities is an antiquarian and a literary enthusiast. We talk for an hour about the comparative merits of Feluda and Bomkesh. Then he gives me a history of the port trust, which he has helped write. In no other city are people so conscious of their history. Sushant: This is actually my first long visit to Kolkata. I've come here only twice before, and that too for a day. I'm very fortunate that my introduction to this city is happening through Dibakar. As an actor, I've always wanted to do different roles and this will be a great experience.
When he offered you Bomkesh, did that ring a bell?
S: I knew Bomkesh has been done before and that he is one of the most loved Bengali fictional characters. There's a sense of responsibility. Everyone who knows Bomkesh should be able to relate to my portrayal. On the other hand, for everyone who doesn't, I should be able to introduce Bomkesh to them.
Is Dibakar being a hard taskmaster?
S: Oh no, he's very open. We are sort of discovering Bomkesh together. All his knowledge about Kolkata and it's history is helping me build the character.
D: I'm a probashi Bangali. Though the language is the same, there are differences, the same that you'd see between Australians and Englishmen. Sushant and I decided that the first thing we needed to do was understand what being a Bengali means. For me, it's inside. But Sushant is forming his own conclusions. (Turning to Sushant) What is the essence of a Bengali?
S: The one thing that stands out is the ease with which they warm up to you. There's an openness, which is hard to find in metros like Delhi or Mumbai.
But the Bengali has always been caricatured in Hindi films. He wears a dhoti, speaks bad Hindi and is terribly lazy. How will you get away from that?
D: There will be absolutely no caricature. In fact, one of the first things that Sushant asked me was, how do I talk? I simply told him, when you say your lines in Hindi, within the conceit of the film, you're actually talking in Bengali. In Gladiator, Russell Crowe is speaking in English. But he's actually supposed to be speaking in Latin, right? It's the same thing. Making Sushant's Hindi accented would defeat the whole purpose.
Tell us about the research that went into this film, Dibakar.
D: It's been on for the past year. The next six months will go into preparations for recreating the Kolkata of that time. There are workshops, the script has to be refined. The visual effects will be huge. We're going on the floors in January. But Kolkata will be our first workshop instructor, our biggest teacher. Each of our walks through Kolkata over the past few days in a workshop. When Sushant sat down and ate fish and rice at a Bengali home, that was a workshop.
How was the Bengali meal, Sushant?
S: Oh, it was like a complete sequence! First laal saag, dal, shukto, parwal bhaja, then fish and mutton. Finally, rosogolla and mishti doi (laughs).
Tell us about recce experiences.
D: We are exploring different facets of the city. If you read the early Bomkesh stories, you'll notice they are situated on the borderlines of white town and black town. It's the land where ethnicities meet. So we're looking at Park Street, Bhowanipore, Tiretta Bazar, Chitpore Road, Chandni, Bow Barracks... Those are the interesting, colourful, mysterious and dangerous areas of that time. Our backdrop is wartime Kolkata, when blackmarketeers, smugglers and narcotic peddlers. The film will explore the city's underbelly of the '40s.
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