Chiranjeet Chakraborty Opens Up About His Latest Role and His Acting Career

When I arrive at his flat on Southern Avenue for the interview, Chiranjeet Chakraborty is waiting for me in the living room, which is adorned with his paintings. "This is a 3D painting," he remarks, pointing to one of the frames. Take a picture with your phone to see the impact. We chuckle and get to discussing his latest role in the Parambrata Chattopadhyay-directed Hoichoi web series Parnashavarir Shaap as Niren Bhaduri, alias Bhaduri Moshai, a former CBI officer who solves enigmatic crimes after retiring. Taken from the conversation.

What piqued your curiosity about Parnashavarir Shaap?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: I'm willing to work on movies covering a variety of topics. What matters most to me are the screenplay and the maker's identity. Naturally, I said yes as I like the director and the writing of Parnashavarir Shaap (Parambrata Chattopadhayay).

How did you get ready for your Bhaduri Moshai role?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: I read Souvik Chakraborty's book, Niren Bhaduri Samagra. I was thinking about Bhaduri Moshai's demeanor after reading the novel and the script—how he stands, speaks, and acts. I've been doing this for fifty years, so it comes easily to me. I believe that the audience has connected with the portrayal. I keep hearing from people that I appear like a multi-talented celebrity. Bhaduri Moshai is just like this. He is very versatile.

You've performed lengthy slokas in a number of different scenarios.

Yes, says Chiranjeet Chakraborty. My throat was giving me some trouble, so I was a bit concerned. However, the outcome was pretty good. I produced a distinct sounding voice for myself by choosing to make my voice calm instead of heavy while delivering the phrases. Bhaduri Moshai speaks in lengthy speeches but stops sometimes. Dubbing was useful.

Which aspect of shooting this series proved to be the most difficult?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: I was skeptical of Dakini's cosmetics and her depiction in the series. I shared a lot of ideas with Parambrata. The series was filmed in Takdah. We were filming in the high hills till late at night, which made it difficult. To get to the location where we were filming, I had to ascend. It would pour with rain. I could have focused more on the acting portion if I hadn't spent half of my efforts on it. I used to get concerned and sidetracked.

What was it like working under the direction of Parambrata Chattopadhyay?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: What a wonderful man. He is very inventive and rational. His writing is good. He was unable to contribute to the movie as an actor since he was not performing in it. I'm sure that was difficult.

Your current body of work is completely different from the movies that helped you gain fame, such as Beder Meye Jyotsna. How do you feel about the actor you were in the past, looking back?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: It's becoming simpler to act these days. At this point, you may act like a character. Stories back then were fanciful fairy tales. Whether we were portraying a villain, goon, or hero, we had to adopt the persona of that role. Heroes in movies would be struck by someone and then, like a snake, wake up. We had to produce implausible conversation. The public would be interested in these conversations. However, one cannot speak lines like "Marbo ekhane lash porbe shashane" in today's movies. We are now only acknowledged by a select group of people. We don't have a large audience here. Our films are not intended for a broad audience. That's something Bengali film is deficient in. There are no stars among us who can carry off a movie. Crowds watch star-studded movies. The final group of "stars" was us.

At this point in your career, what are your top priorities as an actor?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: An actor's hunger never goes away. I'd want to play fascinating parts. I need to work with a strong director and storyline in order to say yes to a movie. If everything else works well, I may lower my prices! (Giggles)

Have you tried out for any dream roles yet?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: I wanted to portray both Kabuliwala and Feluda. Sabyasachi (Chakrabarty) has completed Feluda before. We'll see how Mithun Chakraborty performs in Kabuliwala (written by Suman Ghosh). Nothing remains for me specifically.

I really enjoyed working on some hard roles, such as those in Paapi, Pratik, and Phiriye Dao. Mithun informed me that I had done really well after seeing Paapi. It was my own direction, Phiriye Dao. I spent a whole twenty-five seconds hanging. It was a Chinese individual who taught me the method. I had crafted a unique scenario for the movie.

Which filmmakers have you most liked working with?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: An abundance of them. Working with Atanu Ghosh, Srijit Mukherji, Prabhat Roy, and Rituparno Ghosh was an absolute pleasure. I was never included in the films of big filmmakers like Tarun Majumdar, Tapan Sinha, and Mrinal Sen. I'd want to collaborate with Goutam Ghose.

Which other projects are you engaged in?

Chiranjeet Chakraborty: I wrapped up filming Dabaru, directed by Pathikrit Basu. Hema Malini by Paromita Munsi is what I'm working on. I don't get the best parts. I choose my flicks extremely carefully.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.