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'I take compliments from a woman very seriously because it's difficult to get a compliment from a woman.'
Sujoy Ghosh's thriller Bob Biswas looks very exciting.
Directed by his daughter Diya, the film sees Abhishek Bachchan take up the titular role.
Giving him able support is Chitrangda Singh, an actress we see too little of.
"You can only make a choice out of the work that gets offered to you. I wouldn't know what is at fault here, where is the shortcoming, but I definitely want to work with good film-makers. I am here to work after all," she tells Rediff.com Contributor Sameena Razzaq.
The first of a two-part interview:
Bob Biswas is the vision of debutante director Diya Ghosh. Was there any apprehension while taking up this project?
Not at all. I was approached and told that this is Sujoy's script and the whole film is being based on Bob Biswas's character. We loved him and got hooked on to him.
He left us wanting for more of him and here, the whole film is about his world.
It's almost like how the villain become the villain.
I thought it was very exciting.
Also, the fact that Sujoy has written the script and it's his daughter's first film.
I had no apprehensions.
What happens sometimes with young, first-time directors is that they bring in a fresh take.
The background score has changed the pace and tone of the film, and this is all Diya. It has become a very fresh film from what we saw 10 years back.
When we see the trailer of Bob Biswas, the first thing we notice is your excellent chemistry with Abhishek.
I think the writing is God. I mean there is no way of giving the credit to anything else but the writing.
Beyond that, sometimes when you put two people in a frame, there is a certain compatibility.
The world that these characters create, the house they live in, what they wear, how they talk, how they walk also plays an important part.
So somewhere the director and the writer has a vision that this will all come together beautifully.
Amitabh Bachchan was very impressed by Abhishek's work in Bob Biswas. Do you think it's Abhishek's best so far?
I think it is definitely his best, in the sense this is never seen or done by Abhishek before.
This is his first time, be it the genre, the kind of performance he has done in the film or even the tone of his acting.
If I can compare it with Guru, that would probably be in a similar zone. But this has definitely gone one step ahead.
How much do you relate with your character in Bob Biswas?
This will be such a easily relatable character for any woman out there. There is a practicality to her, the way she has to make these simple, practical decisions of life.
She has to work in a bank, she has to drop her child to school, her manager tries to get fresh with her sometimes and she has to manage all of that, then come back home, and make khana.
She has to take care of everything.
I think every woman, who steps out of her house, deals with this and comes back home to that normal, ordinary life.
They do things with such amazing practicality without being melodramatic.
You have to keep the house running and to make the house a home, there is a woman in the middle of all odds, who, with her love, concern and worry, makes it beautiful.
Theatres have opened, so why is Bob Biswas premiering on OTT?
It is the producer's call. This film was supposed to release last October or November and it has been delayed by almost a year now.
It is premiering on ZEE5 and that has a huge audience.
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The success of Sooryavanshi should be comforting?
But that's a very different kind of film. I feel there are certain films where the content is driving it, and they are the films that OTT probably takes well. Such films travel more through OTT and have a longer shelf life in that sense.
Whereas when you are looking at something as visually dramatic and grand as Sooryavanshi, which is a masala film, you would want to go and experience in single screen theatres or in multiplexes.
How do you look so good all the time?
Thank you so much! I take compliments from a woman very seriously because it's difficult to get a compliment from a woman.
Of course, there is my makeup team that I can say thank you to.
I work out four to five days a week.
I have been doing some kickboxing.
I went through a ACL ligament surgery last year, which was very painful.
After coming out of that, I have started taking health and fitness very seriously.
It's not just work out, you have to watch your diet too.
It is a boring life on the table because you can't eat that much. To look beautiful, you have to live a pretty boring life.
Why don't we see you more often in films? Are you choosy or there is a dearth of offers?
There is definitely a dearth of offers.
If you are an actor, you are greedy for good work, good parts, good film-makers.
You can only make a choice out of the work that gets offered to you.
I wouldn't know what is at fault here, where is the shortcoming, but I definitely want to work with good film-makers.
I am here to work after all.
