I would hide my Feluda book inside my atlas: Abir Chatterjee

Abir Chatterjee on sharing the iconic sleuth's carefree spirit, missing Jatayu and more
He's got his hair parted right; the cigarette is still without a filter. But is Abir Chatterjee the perfect man for the Feluda reboot? We put the actor under the investigator's lens and here's the investigation report. Excerpts:
To start with, what is your shoe size?
Ten. But why?
Because the shoe that fits Feluda is quite big. Soumitra Chatterjee has worn it; Sabyasachi Chakrabarty has worn it...
(Laughs) Size 10 is not small by any standards, is it? But seriously , though I'm confident about the Feluda I'll portray , what will really work in my advantage is the fact that Badsahi Angti is a reboot. Also, it is the first fulllength novel in the Feluda canon. He doesn't have his revolver yet; he doesn't even have his private investigator card. It's there in the story as well as in the film that he's still working in a bank. Since I used to hold a job not too long back, this is something I could relate to. Badsahi Angti is the story where Feluda is trying himself out. That doesn't mean he's any less than the man we see in future stories. He is confident about his abilities, his observation power. But there is something about learning on the job. That's what Feluda is doing in Badsahi Angti.
So does that make him tentative, unsure?
I wouldn't call it tentative. But there is a remarkable energy and freshness of youth about him. For example, when he is pulling Topshe's leg, it's never as Feluda ��� there is a simple dada-bhai candour to it. You don't see the assertion of seniority that's there in later stories. Almost everyone apart from Topshe is calling him Felu here. It's there in both the book and the film. He's going to Lucknow with Topshe's father, his uncle, where he meets Banabiharibabu and Dr Srivastava. They are all his elders. You could say that Badsahi Angti is the story that made Felu, Feluda. We've tried to keep that journey in the film.
As an actor, what are you bringing to the table that will be different from the Feluda portrayed by Soumitra or Sabyasachi?
The youth factor, of course. The storyline says Feluda is around 27 or 28 in Badsahi Angti. Since that is quite close to my age, there is something of his carefree spirit that I share. For example, his enthusiasm for going on trips. He is very spontaneous. For his part, Topshe trusts Feluda and wants to see him win, but he's not sure if Feluda can pull it off. Basically , the character has a lot to prove in this film.
And what about looks and mannerisms?
Personally, as an actor I don't believe in mannerisms. But since this is Feluda, he's a notable exception and this comes through in the simplest of things. While I part my hair on the right, Feluda has a left parting and that's why I had to change my hairstyle. It might sound very simple, but as Feluda himself had pointed out in Ebar Kando Kedarnathe, the way you part your hair can completely change the way you look. Also, he has to look very agile and athletic here. This is crucial in the chase sequences. We didn't want a very mainstream treatment, where the hero is running in slo-mo; at the same time he shouldn't like he's running just for the heck of it. After all, he's Prodosh C Mitter! So that show of fitness was very important. And yes, he still smokes Charminar, filterless. There are so many issues about showing someone smoking on screen and the funny thing was, Badsahi Angti is a story where Feluda is surrounded by elders. So he's anyway smoking less! Or he's always looking for an opportunity to slip off for a smoke when the seniors aren't looking.
Did you miss Jatayu?
How can you be Feluda and not miss him? At the same time, this is an extra challenge for Feluda and Topshe, since they have to carry the story on their shoulders. It seldom happens in films that a character, who is no more than the hero's friend, actually takes up so much of the audience's mindspace. Even now, when we watch Sonar Kella, we tend to sit up in the train scene when we'll first see Jatayu. There is something so special about him.
Bibhu Bhattacharya, our last Jatayu, is no more. Among the actors today, who do you think would be perfect for that role?
Ei re, bhabi ni toh! But one crucial thing you realize when you read Sonar Kella is that Jatayu is actually not much older than Feluda. It's an age difference of just two-three years. The way Sir (Satyajit Ray) sketched the character changed after Santosh Dutta was cast. The original idea of Jatayu was very close to that of Nishikantababu of Gangtoke Gondogol. I personally feel that Sir could have developed Jatayu's character from there. And now that we are rebooting Feluda, maybe we can get a younger Jatayu.
Everyone has their Feldua tale, of reading the stories as children.What's yours?
For most of us, reading Feluda is about adolescence. When you read the stories as an adult, you see that the criminal psychology is not too scary. But it brings back memories of your school life, the friends then, the mischief ��� all of that nostalgia.Which is why we never call him Felu; it's always Feluda. He is always in a seat that is ever so slightly elevated. I remember when ma gifted me Ebar Kando Kedarnathe, she wrote on the cover ���'Eta porte giye jeno porar khoti na hoy'. Every time I got a new Feluda book, I would suddenly become very interested in my geography lessons. After all, the atlas was the largest book in my schoolbag and it was easy to hide the storybook under it and read it during my study hours. Once I even got a few slaps when ma caught me (smiles)!
People who play iconic characters ��� like Bond or Harry Potter ��� tend to get typecast. Did that fear ever play on your mind?
I don't think there's that chance. In my career, I've done all sorts of roles, from romantic characters to negative ones. Feluda will give me a separate recognition value with the audience ��� no more, no less. It's something that Benuda (Sabyasachi) says often ���'I've acted in so many films, but when I go somewhere, people inevitably recognize me as Feluda'. Soumitrajethu has also said this, but would you say that playing Feluda has had a negative impact on his career? Never! In fact, my audience, which watches urban films, is very appreciative and receptive of the different types of roles I've done.
Was there any specific advice from director Sandip Ray before you began shooting?
He had told me not to watch the earlier films too many times. But which films are you talking about? Sonar Kella or Joy baba Felunath, which I've already watched 30-40 times! It's part of our system. At the same time, some amount of unlearning was important. Forget the comparisons that the audience will draw, it actually puts undue pressure on yourself. Am I as good as Soumitrajethu or Benuda? That's not something I wanted on my mind. The other thing that Babuda (Sandip) ��� and later Benuda ��� had told me was a technical point. Feluda has eyes that bore into people. When he is speaking to someone, he's also evaluating that person, his strengths and weaknesses. But they both advised me not to overdo this special gaze of Feluda's. Benuda had done this in the first film and he felt later that his portrayal constantly had Feluda looking very angry!
Did you speak to any of the former Feludas?
Of course, with Benuda. He is like family and he was the first person to have recommended my name to Babuda. About four-five years back, when he was full-fledged into Feluda, someone had asked him in an interview who had the potential to play the character in the future and he had mentioned my name. I was doing TV then and Babuda didn't even know me. He was a bit hesitant at first, but then liked my work and decided to cast me.
Let's talk about Tollywood. You've had quite a few releases this year, but very few films seem to be working. As an actor, are you worried?
Of course, it's a matter of some concern. But there are many factors at play. As many seniors have pointed out, Tollywood was churning out too many films for its own good for a certain period. We're in this situation today partly because of that. The other thing is, by what yardstick do you decide if a certain film has 'worked'? I loved Chotushkone, but despite the great business it has done, its box-office returns can't be compared to that of a commercial release. And neither can its budget. Take the example of Bakita Byaktigato. It did not see commercial success despite winning a National Award and was released twice. Does that mean we don't give it the importance it deserves? In so many years, we don't have a trade journal. It's not just about the business, but a trade guide will help us systematically understand the trends of viewership, our penetration. The other thing we have to remember is that a large section of the audience that watches my films ��� urban cinema ��� actually lives outside Kolkata. Within my own friends' circle, almost everyone has moved out. Mind you, they're very interested in Bangla cinema and follow it closely, but how will they catch the films? At least in places like Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, some of our films release for a week. But those who stay abroad have to either wait for the DVD or the online version. Or they catch some of the films when they come down for a holiday to Kolkata. Point is, they are also our audience, but do they contribute to the box office? No! This is the segment of the audience that we're not being able to tap properly. If the success of mainstream films is judged by the box office and how many days they run houseful, then for our kind of urban films the yardstick should be how many people we've managed to reach out to. We should concentrate on converting our full audience base into contributing to the film's success in terms of revenue. You'll get the real picture if you look at YouTube. Hrid Majharey has notched up nearly 3 lakh hits within 20 days of a pirated version hitting the web! I feel so dejected that this audience is actually watching a poor version of the film. That's why many directors themselves upload a highquality , 'official' version on YouTube. It's a pity this huge audience does not generate any revenue yet. I remember when I was shooting in Andaman, so many Bengali speaking people came up to me, saying that they never got to watch the latest Bangla films since the DVDs never reach there. And the islands, which has a 75% Bengali population, does not have any theatres for Bangla films. This is the state of our own country!
Today you are the luckiest man in Tollywood. Not only are you playing Bomkesh and Feluda at the same time, you're actually playing them on the same day! So how lucky do you feel?
(Grins) Well, I'm very lucky that I got to play the two characters, but I don't feel lucky at all that the films are releasing on the same day! I had finished shooting for Bomkesh in April-May 2013. Had the films released separately, it would have been good for the audience as well. But then, maybe one shouldn't expect everything to work out perfectly.
So which premiere will you attend?
Well, that depends on the dates! Nowadays you even have premieres on Thursdays, so maybe the two premieres will not happen on the same day. I deserve at least this much as the common hero!
And if they do?
I'll attend neither. I'll give both the premieres a miss and stay at home perhaps (laughs)!
Tollywood has got very polarized along party lines, but we've not seen you at any political rally. Is it because you're not called or because you choose to play it safe?
Personally, I feel that every person has to have a political stand. But I don't see any reason why I should openly join a political campaign.That's the way it works for me. Initially, I did get calls to attend some of the meetings, since so many of my friends are part of it. But when I declined, there was no pressure after that to be at any political meeting.
There's an ongoing tussle between the central and state governments over the CBI probe into the Saradha scam. We propose that the central agency should be withdrawn and the probe be handed over to Feluda or Bomkesh. How do you think the super-sleuths would handle Saradhagate?
(Laughs out loud) For both Feluda and Bomkesh the first point of investigation will be how both their films are releasing on the same day! As of now, let CBI do its job, because both our sleuths are busy with the promotion and release of their films!