Actor Budhaditya reveals his toughest day

The actor shot non-stop for 48 hours and that was at a temperature close to 45° Celsius...
I can never forget the summer of April 2009. I was shooting in Naraj for a song called “Prema ra jahara'” from Premrogi. The sweltering heat was unbearable and yet we had to shoot in the sun at a temperature that was close to 45° Celsius. The High Court had directed that labourers shouldn’t work outside in the heat.But actors, being glorified labourers, had no respite!
What made the shooting even more difficult was the outfits. I was given to wear a long black Sufiana dress that was made of rexin! My co-dancers, who were from Kolkata, also struggled equally in the heat. The art director had suitably worked with the props that comprised a huge trunk of a tree with branches, tyres, pots and a “charpoy”. Imagine my plight when I was told that I would have to dance with heavy swords and give passionate and painful expressions.
We were shooting on a barren track and the spot boys were far away. That meant there was no provision for water either. Only during the short breaks, we could huddle under reflectors for sometime. Each take required at least six to eight rehearsals. There were times when I had to lift my face and directly face the sun. It was unbearable and standing bare feet on the sand was unbearable. That shoot continued for the entire day and all through the night.
The next morning, we were given outfits made of net. It was an underwater scene and the temperature that day had shot up so much that even the water had become very warm. My misery continued when in another shot I had to dance with blazing flames behind me.
As a professional I continued even while I wondering how none of my viewers would ever get to know how difficult the shooting experience was. After 48 hours of braving the heat, I was able to complete the shoot. Once over, the director came and hugged me. But I was so exhausted that I completely broke down though but deep down, I was content for having been able to finish the shoot. On a funny note, today I feel I had become a “painrogi” while shooting for Premrogi.
As told to Jyoti Prakash Naik