The Magic and the Magnificence of Arindam Chaudhuri’s : the Last Lear
Do you feel an actor needs to attain a certain level of maturity to opt for movies like The Last Lear?
I feel it’s a great time for an actor or for that matter anybody in the Indian film industry. Look at films like Rock On, Om Shanti Om or The Last Lear, you realise that the audiences have grown to accept films like these. And all these films can co-exist within the same parameter and there is an audience for all of them, which I would say is a wonderful thing. Today, Mr. Bachchan, Preity and I can go ahead and be a part of a non-commercial scenario in spite of being commercial actors. It’s about knowing that you want to do it and that you have an opportunity to do something special and with passion…
What was the deciding factor for you – Rituparno, the script or Planman Motion Pictures?
Of course it was the script. I also did want to work with Rituparno Ghosh and we had spoken about a few films earlier but those didn’t work out and when he came to me with the script of The Last Lear, I was totally blown away. Then there was Mr. Bachchan and Preity attached to it. In fact when I asked him, why don’t you make it in Hindi as well, for it would be a blockbuster, to which Rituda said ‘that is not what I do, I will only make a film I believe in. It’s not that I doubt it would work in Hindi, but I am not comfortable with Hindi, I don’t understand the language and if I cannot be true to it, I will be cheating.’ I think that’s pretty remarkable of him and of Planman Motion Pictures as well. I grew a lot as an actor and it was a wonderful experience. I’m very proud of the film.
You play a director in The Last Lear. Has that in any way made you a more sensitive actor?
The director I play in this film is actually a very cold person (grins), he is sensitive only towards his work, he is sensitive only towards the characters in his films, and he is quite obsessive and eccentric. You have to be sensitive about your film, by that I mean your director, producers, your co-stars, technicians as everybody together make the film. You just try to do your job and make that film happen according to the vision of the director. When one person doesn’t comply with the working of the team, the whole film suffers. So yea, on that level, I am more sensitive as an actor…
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