No actor under the sun will say no to the character of Feluda: Abir Chatterjee

Bengali actor Abir Chatterjee attracted attention in Lucknow more for his good looks and hardcore action that he had been indulging in on the streets of the city, than for his star status in Bengali cinema.
But Bengali fans know all too well the importance of playing Feluda, a character created by Satyajit Ray. We met up with Abir while he was shooting in the city for Sandip Ray���s Badshahi Angti, based on Feluda���s adventures in Lucknow.
ON PLAYING FELUDA
Nobody would expect to be cast as Feluda because it is such an iconic character. So much so that Satyajit Ray himself made two Feluda films. He wrote the stories and also made films on them. And that���s a very rare combination, because in the case of any other iconic character, the story is written by one person and the movie is made by someone else. So Feluda is big. When I was offered the role, I was playing another popular character, Byomkesh Bakshi at that time. So I had some contractual obligations also to fulfil for that, I completed those and told Babu da (Sandip Ray), now please take me as Feluda. No actor under the sun will ever say no to such a character. I was delighted, excited, ecstatic, all kinds of adjectives one can think of, to be playing Feluda. And the fun part is that initially, when we actors read the script, we all imagined ourselves to be Topshe because he is the narrator of the story. The story has been narrated through his eyes. But when I was asked to play Feluda, it was an honour for me. It is like playing a childhood hero. I���ve grown up idolising Feluda. You know, for us Bengalis, it���s like when you think of your childhood, you think of your grandparents and you think of Feluda. These are the kind of connections we Bengalis have with Feluda. He is part of our lives.
ON THE PRESSURE OF PLAYING THE ICONIC CHARACTER
It���s a huge-huge honour but there���s a huge pressure too. I am very possessive about Feluda, so if I were to put myself in the audience���s place, I know how they feel about the character, which is so close to their hearts. So there is a huge amount of responsibility on and expectations from me. I know that. I will be brutally scrutinised once the film releases. I know that, and that thought is scary sometimes. I am expecting it. But the pressure is also more because in the past Feluda has been played by people like Soumitra Chattarejee and Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, and they are the legendary heroes we have. They have already set the bar so high. In a way, it���s good that we got to be be part of Badhshai Angti, because it���s the first Feluda story, and Feluda and Topshe are themselves quite inexperienced as characters. So we can take advantage of that inexperience of the characters, in a way. But on the whole I am also loving the pressure, because if I can do justice to the role, people will love me. They will scrutinise, criticise me, but if my acting clicks, I will be the audience���s favourite. If Saurabh and I can touch the right cords with the audience, they will fight for us and call us one of their own. We will become public property.
ON BEING IN LUCKNOW
All Feluda novels are almost like travelogues. While Sonar Kella was set in Rajasthan, Joi Baba Felunath is a story of Varanasi. Badshahi Angti is special because it Feluda���s first story and it���s a Lucknow thing. When we read the story, it was almost like we were visiting these places. It was great to be in those places actually. Besides, the places of Lucknow are so well described in the book that I almost knew what Imambara was even before I shot there. So I had a fair enough idea that this shoot will be a good one. And seriously, it���s been a one month shoot outside Kolkata, but I haven���t missed home too much. The best best thing I noticed about Lucknow is that old city feel, which is a bit laid back and since I am very much that kind of person, I loved it in Lucknow. I���m not much into partying or socialising, a very boring kind of person. When I told my friends that I am going to Lucknow, I was given a long list of food that needed to be tasted and I must say, I wasn���t disappointed.
ON WORKING WITH SANDIP RAY
This is my third project with Babu da. And his unit is known to be one that provides a very comfortable atmosphere to actors on the sets. In fact it is like working with family. Our two oldest members of the crew whom we call Kanu Jethu and Subroto Jethu have worked with Mr Satyajit Ray right from his earliest film. And when they narrate anecdotes about Satyajit Sir, we get goosebumps. They will say something like, ���when we were shooting Nayob with Dada, this thing happened��� and we are like ���My God!��� because Satyajit Ray is like God for us Bengalis. These films are ones we have grown up watching. They are like myths, so I always wanted to work with Sandip da. It was almost a must for me and as luck would have it, here I am!
SAURABH IS SENIOR TO ME
Me and my co-actor Saurabh (Das), who is playing Topshe, were discussing that ours is the new Feluda jodi ��� a kind of a reboot of the two characters. When I heard Saurabh is playing Topshe, I was very happy because we used to do TV together. And Saurabh, although younger than me, is a very seasoned actor. His acting career is older than mine, because he has been a child actor too. So, work wise he is senior to me.