As he makes his OTT debut with Motwane’s widely praised Jubilee, Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee on how he approached his movie mogul role
In the series, Prosenjit Chatterjee plays Srikant Roy, who runs the Hindi film industry’s biggest studio
Since Friday, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing, Prosenjit Chatterjee says. Some calls are from members in the Hindi film industry, others from his peers in Bengali cinema. They all have the same thing to say — that Jubilee deserves a round of applause. “I couldn’t have asked for a better OTT debut,” beams Chatterjee, who has dominated Bengali cinema for almost four decades.
With Jubilee, creator-director Vikramaditya Motwane goes back to the Hindi film industry of the ’40s and ’50s. Chatterjee plays Srikant Roy, a powerful movie mogul owning Roy Talkies and a star-maker in his own right. The actor says he had two reasons to give his nod to the Amazon Prime Video offering — his love for that era’s cinema, and the opportunity to work with Motwane. “Vikram is one of the finest directors of new-age cinema. When he narrated the subject to me, he said that from the day he started penning it six years ago, he had only me in mind for Srikant Roy. What makes him one of the finest directors is that even today, he [behaves like] an assistant director — he will do everything himself. Also, I know about people from that era, and their contribution to Indian cinema. One of my favourite films has been Guru Dutt’s Kagaz Ke Phool [1959]. When I entered Jubilee’s set, I hugged Vikram and told him that he had fulfilled one of my dreams.”
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Motwane’s character brief to the senior actor was pithy: “Srikant Roy is a king who only believes in his cinema”. Chatterjee brought in gravitas and restraint to the part. “Aditi [Rao Hydari] and my characters are simmering with emotions, but cannot show them. After playing many roles, we get the maturity to handle such parts; expressing [every emotion] through our attitude, eyes and body language. [When explaining the role of] Srikant, Vikram told me, ‘I just want The Godfather.’”
The Bengali superstar is probably best remembered in Bollywood for his act in Shanghai (2012). Asked why he hasn’t been seen in Hindi cinema after Traffic (2016), he quips, “Vikram didn’t [consider] me for his last projects. I need good directors who know my body of work. Hindi movie directors, including Anurag Kashyap and Anurag Basu, have said that it’s not easy casting me as the roles are not challenging enough. I’ve been around for over 30 years. David Dhawan, who gave me my first Hindi film [Aandhiyan], told me I was mind-blowing in Jubilee. I have reached a position today where the roles have to excite me, not the project alone.” Up next, he has the Bengali film, Shesh Pata.
Also Read: Aditi Rao Hydari's 'Jubilee' character commands equal power in the world of men
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