This story is from September 17, 2010

I'd want to act with Richard Gere: Ananya

Ananya Chatterjee, whose role in ���������Abohomaan��������� got her the National Award for Best Actress this year, says she dreamt of working with Aamir Khan after watching his ���������Dil��������� when she was in Class VII
I'd want to act with Richard Gere: Ananya
���������... The film has given a great platform for Ananya to display her sheer range as an actor. In one of the moments in the film, Ananya���������s character says that arthouse film heroines are hardly recognized by the man on the street. ���������Rasta diye heten gele amake ke dekhbe?��������� she asks Mamata. Pertinent question that for any actor opting for arthouse cinema in Bengal.
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But irrespective of Abohomaan���������s fate at the box-office, something about Ananya���������s performance makes one believe that after having done this film ��������� ���������Rasta diye hente gele Ananya ke manushe dekhbe...���������
��������� ���������Abohomaan������������������s review in TOIdated January 24, 2010
These lines haunt Ananya Chatterjee when her role in ���������Abohomaan��������� gets her the National Award for the Best Actress. ���������Yes, I remember how I was told in the review, that post-���������Abohomaan���������, I���������d get recognised,��������� she says. The Award is like the icing on the cake now even though it���������s her work in the serial, ���������Subarnalata���������, and not ���������Abohomaan���������, that has made her a familiar face. What���������s surprising is that even after such a stellar performance in the Rituparno Ghosh film, Ananya hasn���������t got a single good movie offer that can do justice to her talent!
While talking about why roles never came her way despite the praises, Ananya says, ���������There have been directors from television who���������ve moved to the big screen. Though they���������ve seen me work from close quarters, they���������ve never considered me for their feature films. Here was Rituda, who had never worked with me in television, casting me as a heroine in ���������Abohomaan���������. I���������m not the kind of actor who can approach people for work. I could be labelled snooty and a snob for that.���������
For a person who became an actor by chance when she was asked to do a video for a Puja number by ���������Pankh��������� director Sudipto Chattopadhyay, Ananya doesn���������t think the Award is going to change her lifestyle. ���������I can���������t start behaving like a serious person simply because I���������ve bagged this Award. I���������ll be too amused to do that,��������� she insists. So, she will live life to the hilt and not give up on her late-night parties and unconventional dressing sense.

The conversation soon meanders towards her mentor, Rituparno Ghosh. ���������I am a spontaneous actor. I don���������t do a lot of homework. With Rituda around, I had the faith that I could be spontaneous with my acting,��������� she says. Is there any trait that ���������Abohomaan������������������s real life and reel life directors share between themselves? ���������Rituda is such a person that I don���������t think I can compare him with anyone. He himself doesn���������t know what he will be like the next moment. I too share this trait with him. I keep changing. You might find me chatting with someone for hours together. But then, I might not want to entertain the same person for a similar duration of time when he or she calls up next!��������� she elaborates.
So, isn���������t it difficult to survive in an industry with such mood swings? ���������There���������s a difference between being moody and professional indiscipline. I am very attentive and punctual on the sets. Discipline has no substitute. It gives a sense of confidence. I even maintain my own continuity sheets while shooting. Yet, I like my space. I wouldn���������t entertain calls from home while I���������m shooting. I don���������t like to deviate from my work. Once I am through with my shooting, I don���������t indulge in professional conversations. I like to go back home and spend time with my family. This way, I am honest towards both aspects of my life,��������� she says.
Family, for Ananya, is priority. She lost her father last year and now, lives with her mother and paralyzed grandmother. ���������I wouldn���������t say my family is conservative. Conservation is the term that should be used instead. There was a time when I could only wear a short skirt if I wore a pair of leggings under it. But I understand that this was told to me because my parents wanted me to be able to carry off a dress when I wore it. Till I reached an age when I couldn���������t do so, I was asked to refrain. That, I think, is pretty cool,��������� she insists. Leaving them behind and shifting base to Mumbai because there could be more career options in Bollywood isn���������t her cup of tea now. ���������I can���������t start all over again. I���������m used to a certain kind of security and stability. It���������s difficult for me to live the life of a struggler in Mumbai to do Bollywood movies. If this National Award gets me work, I am all game. But I am not in a position to take a plunge unless there���������s something concrete awaiting me in Mumbai,��������� she says. Things might change now that the National Award is in her kitty though she is certain that it won���������t mean not doing television. ���������I���������ve no plans of quitting ���������Subarnalata���������. There���������s something called commitment. If I start going back on my word, I don���������t deserve the National Award in the first place. Besides, I enjoy shooting for this role.���������
Ananya is hopeful of more meaningful roles being written for female actors in Tollywood in the forthcoming years. ���������Paoli had a good role in ���������Kaalbela��������� and ���������Lalon Fakir���������. Indranidi (Halder) had an interesting role in ���������Angshumaner Chhobi���������. Good work is happening though the numbers might not be that impressive yet. Perhaps, it���������s just the lull before the storm.��������� What about competition? Is there any role that she feels she could have portrayed better? ���������It might sound clich������d but honestly, I never feel that way. It���������s not that I don���������t underestimate or overestimate myself. I don���������t have the time or the inclination to do that. For me, competition is technically about where you stand at any given point in time within a fixed set of given circumstances. Competition is transient and it���������s healthy. It���������s a struggle for existence with the dynamics changing by the minute.���������
What does ambition mean to her? ���������I wanted to become a genetic engineer before I accidentally became an actor. Today, I���������d want to act with Richard Gere.��������� As for Bollywood, she had dreamt of doing a movie with Aamir Khan when she had first watched him in ���������Dil��������� as a Class VII student. ���������Back then, I didn���������t even know that I���������d become an actor. Today, when I see that I���������ve won the Award the same year as Amitabh Bachchan, it feels strange. At least, there���������ll be one instance when my name will be mentioned along with his,��������� she says.
As the conversation draws to a close, one wonders if she has been a muse for anyone, just the way her screen character has been in ���������Abohomaan���������. ���������I���������ve done so few films. I don���������t know if that secret lies with someone. Perhaps, I���������ll have to find that out.��������� As for her own muse, Ananya isn���������t saying anything. Here too, the secret lies with her and she isn���������t ready to give it a form in print as yet.
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