Indraneil Sengupta recently had a release in Bengali in the form of Puratawn. Directed by Suman Ghosh, the film also stars Sharmila Tagore, Rituparna Sengupta, Ekavali Khanna among others. The actor spoke about the film along with his career and life in an interview with us.
Indraneil Sengupta on working with Sharmila Tagore in Puratawn, “We actors thrive in that environment which Sharmila ji provided us by being so nice”
Recently you have been in the news for a very public divorce
My divorce is in courts right now, so it’s a sub-judice case. It’s a pending case and I would definitely prefer not to give out any public statement or talk about it at all when it is in courts. I think that is the right thing to do and the way I have reacted to anything that has been said in public is that I do not believe in being vocal about things in public because I do not understand the concept of a public trial or trying to sort things out in public; I do not understand the concept of it. So, I always choose to keep quiet about it and more than this I would not be able to comment because it’s in the courts and we will go as the law would need us to go.
How do you view your journey as an actor so far?
I love the journey that I have had in this industry because I have gradually grown from one stage to another. I started off as a model then I got into acting because that was the most logical thing to do after you get into modelling, that’s how things go on in India. And then I started enjoying my work, I never wanted to become an actor but once I started acting then gradually I started liking it also and enjoying it also and I enjoyed the perks that come with it.
But I was not really into the craft of, or I didn’t have this thing for the craft of acting till a very later stage in my life. So, I guess in the last 5-6 years I have really got hooked on to the art as such and I have been exploring my craft much more and I am completely loving this phase of my life. I am like a little child who is amazed at so much opportunities that this profession of mine has to offer to me and I get to explore so much. So I think I am at the best stage of my life till now, I have always enjoyed working.
But now I am also enjoying exploring the art as such and when you start loving acting for the craft of it you have come at the best stage of your life. So, I feel my journey has been lovely, it has been gradual, it has grown step by step, not at a very fast pace but I think I have enjoyed it more because of that and I am in a happy space.
How did you bag this pivotal role in Puratawn?
I received a call from director Suman Ghosh that he wanted to narrate a script to me. So, I landed up at his place and then he narrated this beautiful script which had this character called Rajeev which was an amazing character. When I heard it, I thought that I would be someone who would fit into this character and fit into this role. And then in addition to that, he told me that Rituparna Sengupta’s company is producing it, so I was very excited about that too because I have collaborated with Ritu on around six films and it has always been a pleasant experience to work with her. So, I was like looking forward to doing this again.
How was the experience of working with the incandescent Sharmila Tagore?
The final, you know, carrot came my way which was he told me that Sharmila ji is making a comeback into Bengali films after a span of 14 years and I was so thrilled to hear that. So thrilled to know that in this comeback film of Sharmilaji after fourteen years I’ll be a part of it.
Most of your scenes are with her and Rituparna. To have two lovely ladies to shoot with constantly must have made Puratawn a happy experience?
Yes, most of my scenes are actually with Ritu and with Sharmilaji. Ritu, of course, I have experience of working with her before as well, but Sharmilaji for the first time. So, initially when I went on to the set and I met her for the first time, of course, considering her stature and everything you know, you feel a little apprehensive but she’s such a warm person and that whole regal aura about her and the person she is …you know all that, and yet she made everyone comfortable. She made me comfortable and it was very very easy working with her. I think we actors thrive in that environment which Sharmilaji provided us by being so nice to everyone and making the whole experience so pleasant.
How was Suman Ghosh as a director?
Suman Ghosh as a director, as the captain of the ship also made sure that everything was comfortable. So, it was lovely but I think Sharmila ji and her way of dealing with people and making everyone feel so nice about themselves has had a very important function in making the whole environment very pleasant to work.
Which of your projects do you consider to be important so far?
I have done quite a few projects both in Hindi and Bengali, one in Marathi as well. I feel in Hindi the important projects that I have been associated with would be Kahaani, which is the most you know remembered role and film and then I very recently did Dr. G with Anubhuti Kashyap, which also I loved doing, 1920 with Vikram Bhatt that was one of the earlier films that I did. I have done quite a few OTT work like Human on Hotstar then I did Aranyak on Netflix, then I have done The Broken News on Zee 5, Aarya with Sushmita Sen and few more I can’t remember right now but yeah these would be the memorable ones that I have really enjoyed and important to me in terms of my career.
And in Bengali?
In Bengali, I have done a lot of good films. The ones really mentionable would be Arekti Premer Golpo, which was directed by Kaushik Ganguly and I was paired with Ritupurno Ghosh and then there would be Srijit Mukherji’s Autograph, there would be Mishor Rohoshyo again Srijit Mukherji, Janala the first film that I did with Buddhdeep Dasgupta. Now, I feel Puratawn is one of the biggest films that I have been a part of, not because it is just released but because it really is a very important film for me in terms of the performance that Suman Ghosh has been able to extract out of me. Plus, the kind of space that film has given me and the kind of prominence that film has given me and the kind of audience it has reached out to. It will be if not the most important till date but one of the most important films of my career.
I have done a film that has been directed by Tannishtha Chatterjee which co-stars Kirti Kulhari, Sharib Hashmi, myself and Monica Dogra, which is a film I am looking forward to. So, the post production is over and now they are looking at festivals and all so that whenever that will release I don’t know when but that is something I am keen on seeing how the audience takes it. I have a film for Ajay Devgn Productions, which is probably getting released in a month or two which is Maa; Kajol is the main protagonist in that film. There is a Bengali film again. It should be coming in a month or two called Goodbye Mountain, again with Rituparna. I did a Netflix film called Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga a couple of years back. There will be a sequel to it, so that should start shooting sometime in say September, October or something. I think these are the ones which are in the pipeline.
You have been part of television, cinema and OTT. Which medium do you enjoy the most?
Every platform or medium that I have worked on has given me something, be it television, be it cinema, be it OTT. But I have always maintained from day one that I have liked cinema as a medium more because it provides you with that space and that luxury of time to delve into characters, to work on the roles more, to get into the nuances, the minute details of a character, of a scene which unfortunately television doesn’t give you because television is always constrained by deadlines and budgets. You have to churn out episodes, so you really do not get that much time to get into details, I understand that. Television doesn’t offer you that luxury and I have always liked cinema as a medium more.
So, yes cinema would be my first preference of medium, but cinema also has limited scope because in terms of numbers there are so many actors, there are so many good actors and in cinema there is a particular number of films that is made in a year. So, the way actors get absorbed could be a little lesser than how television absorbs actors throughout the year.
I guess OTT gives you the best of both the worlds
The saving grace would be OTT. It has great content; it is comparable to cinema at times. There are some OTT contents which are even better than cinema and all the good actors are doing it, so there are good makers, good quality work happening. I absolutely love being an actor on OTT and I am getting to work with such brilliant makers and such brilliant actors and learning every day. So, I think OTT is right now the most practical and promising medium for me. But at the same time, I am always looking at cinema and if something nice and relevant is offered to me, I would jump at it. Television for the time being I am not looking at because I enjoy the other two media more than television.
Also Read: Director Suman Ghosh on Puratawn, “I had thought of it as a poem when I was writing it”
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