I was scared out of my wits that day: Sritam Das

Actor-cum-director Sritam Das recalls how afraid he was on the first day of his directorial debut...
I started my career as an actor, but I always had a dream of directing a movie. I prepared myself for a long time before taking the plunge into direction. So when everything fell into place and I saw my dream taking shape in front of my eyes, I felt very confident.But I never realised the first day of my role as the director of a film would be the toughest day of my life.
The film was “Tu Tha Mu Jauchi Rusi” (2009) starring Arindam Roy, Koel Banerjee, Ushashi Mishra and Mihir Das. I had written the story and was supposed to act in the movie.
On the first day of shooting, instead of feeling jubilant, I was scared out of my wits. From the director’s point of view, everything was so different. I was responsible for not just the acting part but every other details of the entire movie!
I was captain of the ship. The first day of shoot was very important as the cast and crew’s dedication and involvement in the project in a large way depended on how I handled myself on that day. It was very difficult for me to get rid of the nervousness me and start acting professionally. But I went ahead with my work.
My entire team was extremely supportive. The cast and crew were also a bit surprised to see me wearing the director’s hat this way. If only they knew what I was feeling inside! The film did pretty well at the BO and I had my dream fulfiled.
(As told to Madhusree Ghosh)