This is how Jisshu transformed into a sanyasi

Jisshu

U Sengupta’s look as Sanyasi Raja in Srijit Mukherji’s Ek Je Chhilo Raja has been generating quite a buzz ever since the film’s poster and teaser have been out. And rightly so. The actor is virtually unrecognisable in that ash-smeared, bearded and dishevelled look of a sadhu. The credit for the transformation, of course, goes to makeup artist Somnath Kundu, who used prosthetics and obviously, loads of research, to turn the actor into Sanyasi Raja.

The film is based on the famous

Bhawal Sanyasi

case — a long-drawn legal battle fought during the late 1920s and early ’30s by a sanyasi who claimed to be the second heir of the sprawling Bhawal zamindari estate in what is now

Bangladesh

— Raja Mahendra Kumar Chowdhury. Obviously, its historical premise called for a lot of research. “The book, A Princely Impostor? The Kumar of Bhawal and the Secret History of Indian Nationalism, by Partha Chatterjee too helped me a lot. Somnath and I had to dig out photos from archives to zero in on Jisshu’s look as Sanyasi Raja,”

Srijit

told us.
Somnath couldn’t stop praising Jisshu for silently sitting through the two-hour makeover. “Bhawal Sanyasi’s body had specific characteristics — like one of his fingers was fatter than the others — and we tried to recreate these on Jisshu. The process was very challenging,” he added.
Jisshu, on the other hand, gives Somnath all the credit. “I guess he read the script more than I did. He has written another script — about my makeup details and the process. The way he researched Bhawal Sanyasi is unbelievable! He did everything to make me look authentic and believable as Sanyasi Raja. The process was tedious, but now, when I see everyone’s reaction, I feel the hard work has paid off,” the actor signed off.