I don't regret my failures: Prosenjit

It was during his childhood when Prosenjit Chatterjee gave his first autograph. Perhaps, not even realizing what that autograph exercise was all about. And certainly never anticipating that he would one day go on to do a movie titled 'Autograph' which would remain a landmark in his career.
Appreciation for his performances apart, a very intriguing compliment to his work has come in the form of a query on when he is going to change his e-mail ID from 'prosenstar' to 'prosenactor'.He breaks into a smile and says, 'Well, I'll ask my team to look into it.'
While 'Autograph' explores the dynamics between a superstar and a director in the reel world, it also makes one wonder what kind of an equation actor Prosenjit shares with his directors. Who are his backslapping buddies? How does he analyze their craft, idiosyncrasies and style of functioning? TOI gets Prosenjit to talk about his directors, from Swapan Saha to Srijit Mukherji and others in between with whom he has worked or has observed from close proximity. Excerpts:
Very few know that director Haranath Chakraborty was also the purohit at your wedding...
Yes, that's true. I saw him assist Anjan Chowdhury. From 'Sangorsho', 'Daye Dayitya' and 'Ashray' to 'Sasurbari Zindabad', 'Pratibadh' and 'Sathi', Haranath has changed the look of Bengali films. His biggest contribution to Tollywood was the way he started this whole trend of a Bengali film doing a business of `3 crore'`5 crore. Recently, I did 'Jor Jar Muluk Tar' with Hara. The film has the 'To Sir With Love' feel to it with ragging as its central concern. Hara is very hardworking director and loves to constantly upgrade himself. I only wish he would stop being so involved with the production details. Those are stuff that he needs to let production guys handle. I will begin shooting for Hara's next on October 31. It's an untitled film that deals with the real issues of the parent-child relationship, where I play a single father.
You've done so many films with Swapan Saha. Do you think he has lost his sheen in the age of Raj Chakrabartys?
Swapanda is a very intelligent director. He has been one of Tollywood's most prolific directors. Having worked with him since 'Bhai Amar Bhai' and 'Jhinukmala' to 'Greftar', I have seen him grow. I have seen how he had been making one film after another on a budget of `13 lakh-`14 lakh. Even recently, he gave such a superhit like 'Fatakeshto'. That wasn't too far off. He now has to be a little more calculative. All creative people need to reinvent with time. Swapanda, I think, needs to understand that it's time he looked beyond giving importance to quantity. He should make a maximum of two films a year.
Then, there is Prabhat Roy...
Bengali films have never seen action-movies like 'Pratidan' and 'Pratikar'. Then, he did 'Sweth Pathorer Thala' and 'Lathi'. He is a trendsetter. During his days, he made the costliest film in Bengal called 'Shudhu Ekbar Bolo'. Prabhatda has a lot of variations. Today, I think, he should not write scripts himself but rely on a team of scriptwriters who will take his valuable and experienced inputs.
You are very close to Rituparno Ghosh...
Yes, we are friends. I have seen Ritu grow. I know him from the time when he didn't know much about the technical aspects of film-making. Ritu's biggest quality is that he knows how to make his actors act. The maximum critical acclaim that I've got, is for his movies. He is a prolific writer and the moment he is through with conceiving a project, he wants to get it over and done with. In his zest for making a film quickly, I've often seen him narrating the same role to many Bollywood actors (laughs). He is like a kid with a script in hand. There is no one who can write a script as quickly as Ritu. He finishes it in three days.
But when he is through with directing a film, Ritu gets quite detached from it. Today, I see that he has been more detached towards his directorial projects than he is towards his acting assignments. The actor Ritu, I feel, is much more involved in ensuring how the movie is promoted and presented. I wish, he had also done that for the movies that he had directed before.
Your next big release is Goutam Ghose's 'Moner Manush'...
Yes. Goutamda is a completely different person when he has a camera in his hand. 'Thik shanrer moton gotae camera haate pele!' Being such an able cinematographer, I think he becomes quite a maverick when he has the camera. At 63, his energy levels are still very high. During the making 'Moner Manush', I remember I'd go to watch him shoot with others from the crack of dawn. On some days, even when I wasn't prepared, he would just take an impromptu decision to have me shoot some scenes. That would be madness. But then, that's Goutamda. If he loves the light, the sky and the fog, Goutamda can ask anyone to shoot, overriding the pre-determined schedules.
You've done 'Swapner Din' and 'Ami, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala' with Buddhadeb Dasgupta. There were talks of you backing out from 'Kaalpurush' at the last minute since Mithun Chakraborty was also there in the movie...
That's not correct. I have high regards for Buddhada's movies. My only worry is that he always asks me to do his films at the last-minute. Had he given me a little bit of time, I would have by now been able to do many more movies of Buddhada.
You played a director in Bappaditya Bandopadhyay's 'Houseful'. What do you have to say about Bappa as a director?
Bappa has promise and he has his own language of cinema. That's something he believes in and it is also helping him to create his own brand. But I feel he needs to do a simple film. His 'Kagojer Bou' might work. Bappa could look beyond being shrouded by the idea of exploring darker issues.
You had also tried to explore a different kind of cinema with Subhadro Chowdhury's 'Clerk'...
Yes. Subhadro is good. I like his style of film-making. I hope his bohemian life doesn't come in the way of him doing good movies.
Your forthcoming film, 'Tara', is with Bratya Basu. How do you read him?
Bratya is a brilliant writer and actor. He is superb on stage. But, he needs to be more patient to be a good feature film director. The more he understands the difference between the medium of theatre and movies, the better director he'll become.
You've also been observing the works of other important directors in Tollywood. Care to comment on them?
When Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (Tony) made 'Anuranan', I loved it for its visuals. He believes in making commercial films, has a certain sensibility and gives a lot of importance to packaging. While I love all these, I wonder why his films look like Ritu's movies. I would want to see his signature style too.
Could this similarity of looks have resulted from the fact that both Rituparno and Aniruddha have Avik Mukhopadhyay as their DOP? What about Avik as a director?
Even if we discount the look of the film, what about the device of using letters, diary and poems? Haven't we seen all of them in Ritu's films already? It's about time other devices were introduced. Avik is magical as a director. He can do wonders. Just that he needs to say a simpler story in a simple way. I would want to act in his movies.
What about Aparna Sen's movies?
I love her work. I only wish Rinadi could also make the kind of movies that she used to do as an actor. By this, I mean the mainstream Bengali films of yesteryears that brought the audience to the theatres. A well-packaged Bengali movie is the need of the hour for Tollywood now.
There have been rumours of you doing an Anjan Dutt movie too...
Anjanda is a sweet person. He has created an audience for himself. That's very good for Bengali cinema. We have had several discussions on doing films but nothing has really materialized. Anjanda has this habit of changing his versions. He is a little fickle-minded. He takes impulsive decisions which sometimes send the whole production plans into a tizzy.
Though you've not worked with Raj Chakrabarty and Rajib, what's your assessment of their potential to create a difference to Tollywood?
Raj had done a telefilm for my production house. I had told him to do a feature film. Though Raj's first film was a big hit, it was a remake. It worked more for the subject. From the second film onwards till 'Dui Prithibi', he has become a more educated director. Rajib is very hard working and disciplined. He has a commercial mind and wants to learn.
What about your 'Autograph' director Srijit Mukherji ' the new kid on the block?
His second movie has become more risky. (Laughs) I've told him that he will no longer cast me since he is all set to make a film with four star directors (Goutamda, Ritu, Rinadi and Anjanda).
You had once famously rued the dearth of good scriptwriters in Tollywood. Have you changed your views?
The scriptwriters who are working today are doing a decent job. Salil and Padmanabha have promise. Tollywood could try tapping the talent of students from SRFTI. I don't think it's a good sign for an industry to have directors writing dialogues and scripts. These are specialized beats and we need specialized people for that. Today, Tollywood needs films that aren't difficult but make the audience return to the threates.
Rituparno Ghosh had once said that you are a hungry actor but sometimes, your hunger pangs might not allow you to be very judicious about your choice of movies. What's your analysis of Prosenjit, the actor?
I am pretty much happy with the choice of my movies, especially my offbeat roles. Ritu himself has given me the most difficult roles in my career. Apart from my role in 'Khela', all my other roles in Ritu's films were very difficult. It's not in my hands that Buddhada's films didn't get a proper release on time. My role in 'Clerk' was quite a challenge. 'Houseful' is a film that was worth doing. I am no method actor. I act emotionally. I don't regret my failures. I have analyzed them. As an actor, I don't dwell on my success. But I do live with my failures.
When does Tollywood see you as a director?
I have directed two films ' 'Purushottam' and 'Ami Shei Meye'. 'Purushottam' was the first cinemascope film. That was 15 years back. It was a well-mounted and designed film. 'Ami Shei Meye' had Rituparna and Jaya Prada. In 2011, I will direct a Bengali film. It will not be a timepass. I have taken the rights of Shirshendu Mukherjee's 'Chokh'. My team is working on the script. I will make it in Hindi. There is another story set in a village that I would want to direct. It might be somewhat like 'Titli'. I don't want stars but theatre actors in that movie. My aim is to direct a Hindi film from Kolkata.
Do you, like Arun Chatterjee in 'Autograph', ever believe that it's a superstar (and not the director or producer) who can make a film a hit?
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