Abir Chatterjee on his Hindi debut in Avrodh 2, how playing Byomkesh Bakshi helped his character Pradeep & more

Abir Chatterjee began his career in Bangla cinema 14 years ago as a leading man. He is now regarded as one of the most important actors in Bengal with a formidable fan following, especially after playing the mythical detective Byomkesh Bakshi in a series of very successful films. Abir has now made his debut in Hindi with the web series Avrodh Season 2 produced by Applause Entertainment. In a freewheeling interview, Abir speaks to Subhash K Jha on what it means to be an actor today in India.

Your debut in Hindi with Avrodh is impressive. How did this project come your way? and what made you say yes?

First of all, thank you for liking my work in Avrodh. There were several reasons why I said yes, the foremost being the fact that I knew the first season was a big hit. So the audience had expectations, which make the actor feel super-challenged about the Season 2. They give more attention to their work. Secondly, I knew what the Avrodh team was capable of. They had proved themselves once already, so I knew I could depend on the team for my Hindi debut.

Were you impressed by your character?

Oh yes! I found my character Pradeep Bhattacharya to be no run-of-the-mill hero. He was an army captain, alert agile and super-confident trained for any mission. At the same time being an income tax officer his brain works like a computer. So in one character, I had many shades to play. That was exciting.I was waiting for the right time and opportunity to get into the Hindi market. Avrodh has given me that scope. I got the offer in March 2021 when we were recovering slightly from Covid. At that point of time dates were not a problem. Prior to that, there were perennial date issues because of my Bengali assignments. In cricket parlance, we call it the middle bat. That’s what happened with Avrodh.

What was it like working with Applause Entertainment?

I am thankful to Applause Entertainment. This is my first work outside my home territory. I was away from home and family for long periods, for almost five months. It was an entirely new world out of my comfort zone. But thankfully Applause Entertainment and the Avrodh team made me feel very comfortable. I felt like I found a family away from home. So thank you for that.

You play the intelligence officer with a great deal of intelligence. What was your homework for the role?

Yes, for the army portion of the character I was fortunate enough to meet the real-life character on whom my character is based Shourya Chakra Pradeep Arya. He is such an impressive all-rounder. There were also some army veterans on the sets to give us tips. I asked the director Raj Acharya if any special physical performance was required from me. He said no. As a member of the special arms forces, I needed to blend with the civilians. At the same time, I had to be very agile. As for the part where I had to play the income-tax officer, tax and accounts were always my favourite subjects, so I knew the language of the part. Having played Byomkesh Bakshi I am good at analyzing and decoding situations.

You have been one of the foremost actors in Bengali cinema for a good 12-13 years. Which of your roles do you consider outstanding and why?

It is my absolute honour to work with some of the biggest names in Bengali cinema. Everyone knows of the kind of standing that I have in Bangla cinema. It all started with Byomkesh Bakshi. I am so honoured and privileged that I am identified with the iconic character of Byomkesh Bakshi. When I was shooting for Avrodh 2 outside Bengal I realized people knew about Byomkesh and that I have played him in several films. Byomkesh will always remain special. Right now I am shooting with director Arindam Sil for another Byomkesh film. It is based on the unfinished work of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. This is my first Byomkesh film in four years. So I am excited. Everyone is excited. From the rest of my repertoire I like my films The Royal Bengal Tiger, and Abby Sen. Some of my best films didn’t do well on release. But they did very well on OTT.

Would you like to do more Hindi projects?

I would love to. Language is no barrier at all anymore. This is a very exciting time for the actors and for the audience. But my first priority is Bengali cinema. That’s my home. Keeping my fingers crossed.

What do you think ails the Bengali film industry? It’s been a while since we had a truly outstanding Bengali film?

I don’t know what the exact problem is. But we need to work more on the content. Maybe there are budget and infrastructural problems. Whenever we try something out of the box we are financially challenged. You are right in saying that hardly any Bengali film of today is getting the recognition the Bengali cinema did earlier. There are exceptions though. But we need to make habit of making good films. I personally feel we need to dig more into the treasure-trove of Bengali literature

Do you miss working with the greats like Ray and Sen and Ghatak? Would you say the cutoff point for excellence in Bengali cinema was Rituparno Ghosh?

As an actor, I missed working with these greats. Satyajit Ray expired when I was only 12. I wish I was born earlier so I could work with the greats. Rituparno Ghosh left us too early. Yes, there is a void there.

Do you think the OTT platform is the say ahead for all truly talented actors you included?

With the advent of the OTT platform, the audience is KING. If they don’t like any content it takes them just 5 seconds to swipe and go elsewhere. You cannot take the audience for granted. Language is no barrier anymore. Filmmakers need to be ready and alert. Before OTT the makers of Avrodh wouldn’t have thought of me. Actors from everywhere are in demand now.

Your forthcoming films?

Right now I am shooting for my seventh Byomkesh film. It’s called Byomkesh Hatyamancha. Then there is the third part of the Guptodhon franchise. It’s called Karnasubarner Guptodhon. We are releasing it for Durga Puja. I am also doing a film on body shaming called Fatafati. Then there is Putul Nacher Itikotha which is based on a literary work. Right now I monitoring the reactions to Avrodh 2 from all over the world.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.