Paoli Dam: Nandita is an extremely strong yet vulnerable character

Her last film, Nandita Roy-Shiboprosad Mukherjee directed ‘Konttho’, was an emotional roller-coaster ride. Up next for Paoli Dam is Pratim D Gupta’s detective thriller ‘Shantilal O Projapoti Rohoshyo’ which again sees Paoli in a challenging role of Nandita, an actress who turns politician. It’s her fourth film with Pratim and the dusky beauty is excited to reunite with Pratim. As the film gears up for its theatrical release on August 15, ETimes caught up with Paoli for a candid chat. Here are the excerpts.

As you have seen in the trailer, Nandita is a highly successful actress, who later joins politics and then a lot goes in her life. The incidents from her past and present set the course for her future. Her connection with Shantilal is also one of the biggest attractions of the film.

I have a number of friends in the industry who have ventured into politics. I have seen how excited they are to work for the people. I have journalist friends as well. It has no doubt helped me in understanding Shantilal’s character.

Nandita’s journey is a bit unusual. She has a lot of layers and grey shades. Her background and struggles control her nature. Frankly speaking I haven’t met too many people like Nandita . See, I must say to be successful, one has to make sacrifices and specifically on that ground I see Nandita to be an extremely strong yet vulnerable character.

Shantilal is from a humble background and isn’t satisfied with his job. At this point, he discovers something fishy in Nandita’s story that guides his entire journey. I have seen people like Shantilal but his transformation into a detective is quite rare. I believe Pratim had this secret desire of becoming a detective which he has explored through Shantilal.

We love thrillers and detective stories. There is always a craze for detectives amongst we Bengalis. So, I must say Pratim deserves credit for conceiving such an original detective. I think people particularly those who like Ritwick will enjoy the film.

It’s always a fun-filled joyride when I am working with Pratim. He is a wonderful human being and he writes so well! I have become a fan of his writing. He is a really sensitive director and it’s always a great experience working with him. He is so calm and composed. Also, I hear everyone is talking about the combination of us - Pratim, Ritwick, Me and cinematographer Subhankar Bhar - is outstanding! Pratim has always offered me beautiful characters. Be it ‘Maacher Jhol’s Srila, ‘Mirchi Malini’s Malini, ‘Ahare Mon’s Romona or ‘Nandita’ in this film, I am really grateful to him.

Yes, we have acted in a number of films together but sadly in most of them, the culmination is tragic, it leads our characters into separation. We haven’t been into romantic situations that much. Next time I will approach Pratim for that! (Witty smile)

‘Shantilal O Projapoti Rohoshyo’ will hit the theatres in August 15. Then I have ‘Password’ and ‘Sanjhbati’ scheduled for release during Puja and Christmas. Right now I am shooting for Sanjhbati and my character in the film allows me to challenge my abilities. I will be share the screen with Dev in both the films. It has been a great experience while working in these two films. Dev is such a wonderful human being.