'Can't success be celebrated?'

Prosenjit Chatterjee, inspired by Bollywood writer Sutanu Gupta's haircut for his look in Haranath Chakraborty's film, talks about the fancy price actors quote and the offer to star in 'Anandamath's remake.
You are sporting a look that's very different from your look in 'Autograph'...
Yes. The look is different. I was thinking of what kind of a look I'd want for the film when my friend from Mumbai, Sutanu Gupta, came down to meet me.Sutanu has written films like 'Damini', 'Ghatak' and 'Ghayal'. My look in this film is inspired by Sutanu's haircut.
But it also will remind people of you in 'Houseful'...
I can't really take time out like the actors of Mumbai and change my look completely. I did it for 'Moner Manush'. But for that, I will need to do a film for six months without bothering about continuity. I wanted a movie where my look was different and yet didn't require me to change a lot. 'Houseful' wasn't a mainstream film. I'm trying to merge mainstream elements with a certain kind of sensibility in this film, that is about the crises that parents go through while wanting to charter the life of their children to fulfil their own ambitions.
You have a son too. Do you also object to him doing things which you wouldn't want him to do?
I sometimes do. The other day, I was going for an event where I had dressed in a manner that would befit a mainstream movie. These days, I don't dress that way unless I have a shoot. Trishanjit just looked at me and said: 'Besh hero hero lagchhe. Oi gunda heroder moton'.
I could understand that his reactions came from an overdose of watching Bengali films on private channels. My son is a huge fan of Dev and Jeet. One day, I spotted him wearing a handkerchief on his jeans. He said he had done it because Dev dresses up this way. Arpita keeps on telling me that I won't be able to avoid the influence of films on him. It's in his blood, Arpita says. Yet, we are trying to let him grow up without the hangover of my image. That's why we want to send him to a boarding school. Every parent today wants his or her child to stand first in class. If a child wants to pursue sports, he has to be another Sachin. If it's music, she has to be Lata Mangeshkar.
Though your 'Autograph' has managed to bring back the movie-going Bengali audience of the cities back to the theatres, there are many who are calling it a 'pseudo' movie. Some are pitting your performance against Indraneil's...
I've always felt that we need to bring the movie-going audience back to the theatres. There have been many attempts to do that. But none of them really clicked. Of course, 'Byomkesh Bakshi' did manage to break that jinx. Anjan Dutt had done it in a different way. But with 'Autograph', things are different. The third week's collections are better than the first week's. Indraneil called me up to say that he had felt uneasy with comments comparing me with him. I told him that I have no problems with that. I've messaged Indraneil after every good review of his work. I want him to create a brand of his own. The only negative point of this industry is that people here don't know how to collectively appreciate success. If my film does well, I'll be called 'manipulative'. If Tamil, Telugu or Malayam film industries had a trendsetter like 'Autograph', all the directors and producers would unite to celebrate the success. Tomorrow, if this film with Haranath becomes a hit, one per cent of its success will be a reflection of the hangover from 'Autograph'. Bengal doesn't have a single chamber where actors, producers and directors will be united. Tomorrow if one producer is nominated as the chairman, another will question that decision. I've good relations with everyone but even for me, it's difficult to unite everyone.
Actors in Kolkata are supposedly now quoting fancy prices anywhere in the range of `20 crore and `50 crore. Do you think inflated pricing is good for the industry?
I know what kind of money the big producers in Kolkata can offer. Newcomers should ask for a good price. But if you can't guarantee a return of `10 crore, I don't think it's fair to quote fancy prices.
Is it true that you and Arpita are coming together for a remake of 'Anandamath'?
Ujjwal Chakrabarty, who had once won a National Award, has approached us. Talks are on and we will take a call on this in a couple of days.
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