New Delhi, Oct. 15 -- Actor Tota Roy Choudhury doesn't mince words when he speaks of the three directors that he'll remain 'forever grateful' to in his three-decade-long career. Prabhat Roy was the first to offer him an acting opportunity, Rituparno Ghosh changed the way audiences perceived him as an actor with 'Chokher Bali' and Srijit Mukherji gave him the opportunity to play Feluda, a character he had always dreamt of portraying. So, when Srijit approached him to play the iconic Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay in 'Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra', Tota knew the director must have been convinced of his ability to bring the character to life. "I trust Srijit completely," said the 'Ahalya' actor.
Preparing for the role involved more than just getting the look right. Tota worked on his body language and adopted a distinct accent to get under the skin of the celebrated author. "The novel was first published in 1926. I managed to do some research. Srijit also spoke to and met members of Sarat Babu's family. Together, we thought about how to design the character," he said.
The actor admitted to feeling a 'healthy fear' about portraying the literary legend. However, Somnath Kundu's brilliant makeup helped him inhabit the character more convincingly. Set across two timelines, the film revisits the British administration's ban on Chattopadhyay's revolutionary novel 'Pather Dabi'. For Tota, the story holds relevance beyond its historical setting and could spark conversations on several levels. "We have come a long way since 1926. But even in these 100 years, there are some things that never change, like power doesn't want to listen to the truth," he said.
The actor shares Srijit's optimism about the film's prospects despite its relatively limited number of shows compared with the three other Bengali releases during Durga Puja. Both believe that the film has the potential to travel far if it continues to get a place in theatres.
A few months ago, Tota had another high-octane release, 'Keu Bole Biplobi Keu Bole Dakat', in which he played a cop. Tota feels the Jeet-starrer could have performed better had it received a better showcasing. While he has also been part of Hindi projects such as 'Black Warrant' and 'Tere Ishk Mein', the actor is currently focusing on Bengali ventures. His upcoming projects include 'Feludar Goyendagiri: Baksho Rawhoshyo' and the return of the 'Chaalchitra' franchise with 'Chaalchitro: The Ekhchala Murders' on 'Hoichoi', in which he reprises his role as cop Kanishka Chatterjee.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.