Prosenjit Chatterjee Who Turned A Year  Older On September 30 On Life  As An  Actor So far

He is  by far the biggest star of Bengali cinema. And yet when  on his birthday I  asked him  if he was satisfied  with his  career so far, Prosenjit replied, “I am sure you understand an actor can never be satisfied till his last breath. An actor is somebody who looks every day something new, something challenging, something you have to deliver.So satisfaction is not a right word for me. And I think till my last breath, I’ll never be satisfied as an actor. I will always think in my mind that this is these are the things which is I really couldn’t do it.That is always there. When I think a little  I haven’t done a film Ray’s Jalsagar, but of course, my age doesn’t suit that. But I’m saying that kind of a character or something like Coppola’s The Godfather.So there are plenty of characters which I have not been able to do till now. So I think satisfaction is not the right word.”

 Not that he is  not grateful  for what he has achieved, “What whatever I have achieved as an actor, or as a star, I think that is also a blessing.Maybe there are a lot of more talented people in this world, or maybe in my state. Because I’ve worked more in  Bangla cinema, there are bigger talent maybe. But I think it was the  blessings of my audience and my hard work that I have achieved something which I sometimes feel that I don’t deserve ? I think  somewhere when you work in this kind of a profession, there is two things:  your hard work, your concentration, to pull it for the last  forty years is not a very easy thing. But end of the day, it is the audience and I believe in God and my Ma. I think that’s a blessing is also is very important.Because we can’t say that it is going to work or not. So there is some power which has blessed me for last 40 years. I think even God understands that  this man only understands cinema and nothing else.Because in my Bangla industry also, if you talk to any of these directors, especially new-age directors, they will say this man is hungry like anything this this man doesn’t give up. He finishes off one film, film gets released, then again, he starts talking to us  about something  new, something untried . So the hunger.I will never be satisfied basically. I am very happy what I have achieved.And really, honestly speaking, I don’t have that power. I’m just a human being. And in past also, I think,  whatever God has gifted me or given me, I’ve treated with  sincerity.

 When I asked him  about any regrets Prosenjit replied, “I don’t see anything I  regret. I don’t say that I missed this. I missed that bus.Because wherever I am today, as an individual, I am blessed that I am here. I think very few people can really come up to this place  without blessing without audience without my media friends, they have taught me, they have made me understand where I’m going wrong, where what I’m doing right. So in a way, and I’ve been very open as a person to my audience through my media, my chapters are totally open, there is nothing hidden.I have  never cheated my audience .I’ve not cheated myself, basically. I don’t regret in anything.So I don’t want to change anything. I think I will ask that if I come back, which we say is a rebirth, God should bless me in the same way he had blessed me in this life.
Speaking   of his idols, Prosenjit said, “I must say that, for me, always, it’s been my mom.She has not really  seen how  I became a star,seen me growing from Prosenjit to Bumba, or maybe Prasenjit to Bumba Da, the kind of respect, the kind of aura , you know, from all generation I received from, from this industry that maybe she hadn’t seen it. But of course, my Ma is my greatest inspiration. There is no second in it, like, she has been, she is there for me.She taught me a lot of things, which I still, I still, she taught me the philosophy of life. So I think that was very important for me, in a way.I can’t deny Uttam Kumar, I can’t deny Soumitra Chatterjee, I can’t deny Mr. Bachchan, which is there in my autobiography also. And I can’t deny actors like Nasiruddin Shah. So there’s so many, like, even I’m a huge fan of Mr. Kamal Haasan.And of course, there are some great actors like Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman.But yes, if you ask me to name on actor, it would be Soumitra Chatterjee.I have learnt a lot from this man.As an actor.As how he conducted himself in  the industry.How he had given his time for this industry.Just not as an actor.He took this vocation with a  lot of responsibility.So, when we were growing up we used to always go to him.To take his help.His guidance.His advice.And he was.He was always there with us.So, I have learnt a lot from this man.And of course Amitabh Bachchan.So, I think these two actors are  huge huge  inspiration for me.

  We also spoke  about his strained  realations with his father Biswajeet.  “Sir, let me be very honest.We are not strangers.Yeah,there  was some  strain long back.I think now we are not strangers.We talk practically every day.We share conversations on WhatsApp.And yeah as a family also we are together.Maybe we don’t stay under one roof.Because he has his own space.I also have my own space.But overall, I would rather say that we are very close.And.I attend his Pooja’s,if I can’t make it.  For  my  releases he  attends as family. I will say it’s a very healthy relationship.”

    Speaking of juggling hardcore commercial  cinema with challenging  offbeat  projects, Prosenjit says, “You know from getting out from the absolutely hardcore mainstream cinema into a different genre is not a very easy task.But I will surely say that I have taken that risk. And maybe fifteen  years back, I had openly declared that this area of hardcore mainstream cinema, which I have been doing, cannot be definitive  for me. And I completely agree that mainstream cinema is something which has to work always because that is the industry.But I have pulled it for more than 25 years in my own way. And I have given a lot of hits and I stood for Bengali cinema, mainstream cinema. But at one point of time, ahead of time, it was my decision to give up, I mean to give that space to my younger generation, which I declared. I wanted to do something which is in my own way, was  mainstream, but it was  a very different character. So I started searching for the characters. Of course, I was blessed that I got Srijit Mukherjee’s Autograph, produced by  Madhu Mantena,Moner Manoosh and started working with absolutely fresh new age directors like Srijit,  Kaushik, Atanu Ghosh.And yes, and in Bombay also, I’m so lucky that I’ve worked with people like Dibakar Bannerjee  and Hansal Mehta  and of course, Vikramaditya Motwane. Even  on  the OTT  I started in a very different way in Jubilee. It was again a new platform. So I always try to experiment with my role and with the platform. I have done television also.I mean, people normally say that you don’t do television, but I have not the regular shows, but a very special show also I had done on television. So I think for me as an actor now, it’s been always a challenge. I have done Kaka Babu, the film was for children. So I try to  constantly search where I can cater for a very different audience. When I did a Dawshom Awbotaar last year, which I did Srijit  Mukherjee , I knew that’s for a mainstream success, box office success, which was a huge success last year. So for me to do characters which people had not seen,  is  becoming very, very hard.Of course, you will understand, Sir, that it is not so easy. But for me, it’s always been a challenge to invite  audience to the theatre for watching Prosenjit’s  film. But when they come out from the theatre, they should not say it is Prosenjit’s film.They should say that character, whatever I play, that this character is fabulous. So I want to get into that character so that my character becomes bigger than Prosenjit  Chatterjee. So that has always been my challenge for last fourteen years.”

 Prosenjit feels lucky to  have  found the right directors. “ I’m  blessed to work with so many good, fantastic directors. I started working with Tarun Majumdar and  Tapan Sinha too. Now I’m working with these bright  younger directors.I think I’m blessed in that way. I try to find  characters  which people have not seen me  play. I think at this  stage   of my career I am open to  doing any kind of a  character where  I can be bit  experimental. I can also enjoy the character. I can live with the character and I can give some kind of a surprise to my audience.As I told you, Sir, that to get this kind of a character, maybe not 100 percent, maybe I will get 60 percent of the  character on screen. But it’s a task. Honestly speaking, it is a task. And I am into it. Every day from  morning, I try to find out the character which can be  really challenging for me and for the audience also to give some kind of a surprise and also a good script and the director. Even they know this man will not say yes if it is not something which is very difficult or maybe challenging. But as an actor, I will never say that all the characters which I’m getting or I’m doing is always been 100 percent challenging. But what I normally do that I balance it out.If I do three films a year, I do two for my mainstream audience. But when I do a film like Shesh Pata, I know this film is going to stand the test of time.When I do a Doshor or when I do a Shankhachil or maybe I do a Jaishthoputro  or even a Gumnami or Jatishwar. …These are the films or maybe even a character like in Jubilee….these are the characters I believe will be there for a long time.And there are some  film institutes, they have curated a  few films of mine for film courses. So, yeah, it’s difficult. But as I will surely, it’s not at all a very easy task because you need a lot of patience. I need to be very open minded about my  roles.I am not scared to do any kind of a role. I have nothing to lose.Let me now do experimental parts  that that can add to my career .So, it’s very difficult to tell… I mean, all the characters which I played at least for the last 13-14 years are my favourite.But yeah, honestly speaking, my character Lalon Fakir  in  Moner Manush  was  very difficult character which I had played for Gautam Ghosh. And the film people will, I think, remember for a long, long time. And it is one of the Gautamda’s best, I will say.So, yeah, Moner Manush and Ritu’s Doshor with Konkona, which I, which I played the husband and I think I got a National award for that. Jatishwar is another film which with Srijit Mukherjee is like people will remember for a long time.And it’s one of my favourite character. And of course, Mayurakshi, because that  a big blessing for me to do this kind of a character with the   late Soumitra Chatterjee.  I am a huge fan of this man. I’ve learned a lot from this. So, Mohirakhi was one of my best. I think I should talk about my Jaishthoputro.And of course, Seshpata, which I think I have to mention, because people are not seeing this kind of a character from my side. Like it was a really difficult film.I would love to say that while doing Subhash Bose in Gumnami was also very, very challenging because I’m nowhere close to Subhash Bose, but people have seen, watched that film. It is highly appreciated, big box office. And a lot of non-Mongolians I have seen all over the country had seen that film because of the OTT.And yeah, people have loved it.”