A SECOND COMING
Starring Soumitra Chatterjee as himself, this biopic should cement the late great actor’s legacy
When Soumitra Chatterjee passed away in November last year, it was clear Covid had claimed a beloved actor, but for many in Bengal, the loss seemed more personal. Longtime friend, director and one half of the celebrated Soumitra-Aparna pair, Aparna Sen wrote, “There seems to be almost no one left of the world I once knew... a world made up of certain sensibilities, certain value systems, both cultural and moral, the idea of a different (less mediocre?) Bengal, of a different (less reactionary?) India.” Chatterjee was many things to Kolkata’s film industry—legend, lodestar, luminary—and though the extent of his influence is hard to measure, actor-director Parambrata Chattopadhyay offers a short obituary: “[He] left the world, especially the film world, a little emptier.”
One of the last filmmakers to have directed Chatterjee, Chattopadhyay was keenly aware of the actor’s legacy.
Abhijaan, the film he was making with Chatterjee, was a biopic of the 85-yearold himself. From the moment he began scripting, Chattopadhyay knew he was telling the story of a giant, “one of the last Mohicans of Bengali cinema.” He says, “His relationship with his craft was unique. He could effortlessly roam between different forms of art—be it cinema, poetry, theatre, painting or prose. He was a true artist. And yet he also maintained an artistic distance from his work.”
It was perhaps that cultivated distance that allowed Chatterjee to act in his own biopic, giving it four hours daily, while still remaining detached. “To be honest, I was a little upset that he couldn’t spare more time, but he told me his health would not allow it,” says Chattopadhyay. Actor Jisshu Sengupta, who plays a younger Chatterjee in Abhijaan, admitted to nearly quaking in his boots at the thought of playing the iconic actor in his very presence. Others changed schedules and moved mountains to be part of
According to Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Abhijaan is not a hagiography of Soumitra Chatterjee
the film—Paoli Dam plays Suchitra Sen, Sohini Sarkar plays Madhabi Mukhopadhyay and Q, director of films like Gandu (2010) and Garbage (2018), acts as Satyajit Ray. Even Tollywood icon Prasenjit Chatterjee puts in a guest appearance.
Having won a Padma Bhushan, a Dadasaheb Phalke award, four national awards and a French Légion d’Honneur, Chatterjee’s greatness cannot be a matter of debate, but according to Chattopadhyay, Abhijaan is no hagiography: “When you’re looking at someone’s life, it cannot be through the prism of only blind admiration.” Minutes later, however, the director lets slip, “I am incredibly fond of him [Chatterjee].” The present tense seems telling. Though Chatterjee’s absence is conspicuous, his presence is still keenly felt. Releasing this summer, Abhijaan will only exaggerate that contradiction. ■