Bollywood thinks highly of actors from Bengal: Ananya Chatterjee

Ask anyone in the Bengali film industry to name actresses known for delivering power-packed performances and Ananya Chatterjee’s name is bound to come up. But Ananya has always been what people like to call ‘selective’. She doesn’t like being asked why she’s seen less often on screen. This year, however, her fans have been lucky - first with Srijit Mukherji’s ‘Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichu Nei’ and now, ‘Annapurna’.

From the beginning, Ananya was clear about the kind of work she didn’t want to do. So, she was willing to wait - sometimes longer than most for films like ‘Dwando’, ‘Abohomaan’ or ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’ to come her way. She’s also someone who’s never paid much attention to tags or labels. Like in ‘Annapurna’, she plays the mother of a grown-up, a character older than her real age.

Ask her if she worries about getting stereotyped in an industry where that happens a lot and she shrugs it off. “If I had that in mind, I wouldn’t have been able to say yes. I don’t believe in all this. An actor should be able to do every kind of role. That’s the real challenge. ‘Annapurna’ is completely different. And when director Sayantan Ghoshal’s ‘Madam Sengupta’ comes in, that’s a completely different character again. That’s the beauty of acting - you get to explore so many shades,” she said.

Indian cinema has shown us all kinds of mothers from Nirupa Roy’s sacrificial ones to Shefali Shah’s layered portrayal in ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’. Ananya feels that while mothers have often been shown as ‘sacrificial’, it’s heartening to see films today reflect real changes in society.

“Most of us today have working mothers and films now show that too. I’ve seen actresses, who are also mothers, finish a shot and immediately check in on their kids. In ‘Annapurna’, I play a strong-headed mother who isn’t just emotionally there - she’s independent. She can live alone. She makes her own decisions and follows her own path. I liked that,” said the ‘Laptop’ actress, whose mother, by the way, used to play the Hawaiian guitar.

Ananya has been actively promoting ‘Annapurna’, knowing well that the film largely rests on her shoulders. This time, she also took an interest in the film’s release strategy especially since ‘Hemlock Society’ and ‘Puratawn’ had released just before ‘Annapurna’.

“I knew hall distribution would be tricky with so many releases. I told the producers to release the film around the city’s outskirts and they did. We’re seeing good responses from places like Cooch Behar, Lakshmikantapur and Maheshtala. Plus, the film has houseful shows at Nandan,” she smiled.

‘Annapurna’ is a women-centric film and there’s often a perception that producers shy away from backing such films because of concerns about commercial risks. But this year, we saw ‘Binodiini: Ekti Natir Upakhyan’ and now ‘Annapurna’. Could this encourage more producers?

“‘Binodiini’, with Rukmini Maitra in the lead, was produced by actor Dev. ‘Puratawn’ had Rituparna Sengupta both acting and producing. But if only actors produce these kinds of films, then honestly, not many will get made. I can't afford to produce one. Those who can, are doing a great job. They are lucky. Otherwise, who would have given the role? Also, I don’t think anyone can predict which film will work at the box office,” Ananya said.

Coming up, the ‘Mohomaya’ actress has ‘Madam Sengupta’ with Rituparna and Suman Mukhopadhyay’s ‘Putul Nacher Itikatha’, which is currently doing the rounds at film festivals. But what has her fans especially excited is her upcoming Hindi romantic drama ‘Aap Jaisa Koi’, where she shares the screen with R Madhavan and Fatima Sana Shaikh.

“It’s a simple role. It’s about two families. I belong to Fatima’s family. But we had a great time shooting for it,” she said. And what about the perception of actors from Bengal in Bollywood, we ask? “They think very highly of us,” she smiled.