I'm obsessed with all things Bengali, man. I love fish, my maid is Bengali, I acted in Bengali and Bangladeshi films.
The Mumbai film industry has definitely a bigger reach. But considering the rich content of work in many Bengali films, even by new directors, there has to be a better financially backed distribution model for films here.
Earlier, people used to say no to regional films, but now people all over the world have started watching Bengali cinema.
I tapped into my potential in Bengali films, which I don't think directors in Bollywood were able to understand.
When I started doing advertisements, I really enjoyed the whole process of shooting, and I realised that I could do the little bit of acting required quite easily. My directors also told me that I have a flair for acting and that I should polish it and try for films. Then I thought I probably had it in me - why not give it a shot?
I have introduced my daughter to the literary classics and landmark Bengali films. I want her to be well-versed in English but not at the cost of Bengali.
Everywhere I go today, people talk about Bengali cinema. I completely refuse to accept that Bengali filmmakers are not making good films.
Till now I have mostly done the glam roles. But I do look forward to work for films which will give me more scope to perform as an actor.
I enjoyed working with all my directors. I may have done more films with certain directors, but it doesn't mean I enjoyed working more with them and less with others.
I've been lucky to get some path-breaking films, which proved to be the turning point in my career. Be it 'Rock on!' 'The Last Lear' or 'Raajneeti,' directors started working in a different way.
When I first started working, I was very aware of the fact that I'd been to university and studied Russian and French and not acting. So when I started working, I'd started working quite young, I felt like it was important to treat myself kind of like an apprentice and do as many different types of things as I could.
Although several actors have worked in films down South, I feel unsure of whether I will be able to emote and act as exuberantly as I do in Hindi and Bengali films.
Whenever I get married, it will be a Bengali wedding. If I won't have a Bengali wedding, my mother won't come. She has warned me. So, I am going to have a Bengali wedding for sure.
Commercial Bengali movies are all crass imitation of Telugu and Tamil movies. There are only a handful of directors like Rituparno Ghosh, Aparna Sen and Gautam Ghose who make quality films.
Sometimes, I shot for four films but none of them released because of various reasons. So, I started becoming conscious about the kind of films I do.
Cinematically, anything like 'Khawto' in Bengali cinema hasn't happened. Yes, you get such films in Hollywood, a few in Bombay. In Bengali literature, you get such stories in the works of Samaresh Basu and Buddhadeb Guha.