I will kiss Suman or hold his hand, if I want to: Swastika Mukherjee

Sexy screen diva, concerned mother, loyal partner ��� will the real Swastika Mukherjee stand up please, we ask. She searches you with her grey-green eyes and says, simply, ���But all of them are me."
And finally, that was the tone of this interview ��� playful, heartfelt, emotional ��� as she spoke about everything from the Singapore incident to her relationship with Suman Mukhopadhyay.Excerpts from a chat with destiny's ��� and controversy's ��� favourite child.
For Swastika Mukherjee, 2014 was all about tumult and upheavals. So tell us, is there a lot to look forward to in the new year?
On the professional front, yes. There's Saheb Bibi Golam, where I play this multi-faceted character, who can be an angel and also a bi*ch. Family Album is ready and I'm hoping that Shesher Kobita will finally release. I also have Anubrata Bhalo Acho, where I play an aged character opposite Ritwick (Chakraborty). And then there's my Bollywood debut, which is the most awaited film of my entire career. Each film will see a different me. You could say I'm in a happy space.
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Speaking of Bollywood, don't you think you could have taken the plunge much earlier?
I keep hearing that from people, but the truth is, I don't know anyone over there. I've been quite satisfied with the kind of films I've been doing here for the past five-six years. If I were to go to Bollywood, I would have to start again from scratch. I've got so many calls over the past two-three years, more so after Paoli did Hate Story. But I never returned these calls, since I'm not looking to do only a certain kind of films. The platform I'm getting now, who would have given it to me then? Now the only thing left is to act opposite Salman! If that happens, I can just sit at home for the rest of my life and have dim pauruti!
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But one gets the feeling that in Kolkata, you're gradually falling out of touch with the rest of the industry...
See, I know that if I want to, I can sign films every day; I can have a release every two weeks. But that's not what I want from life. The truth is, there are very few directors who do good work over here. As I don't do commercial films, many projects are already out. And for the type of films I do, most directors, apart from Mainak (Bhaumik), work with just one production house. It's common knowledge that over the years, I have not worked with this particular house and I don't think that is suddenly going to change.
You put in a nuanced performance in Take One last year and this is the time you should be at the top of your game in terms of the roles you get. But that has not been the case recently. Does it bite?
No, it doesn't. Because to get that many satisfying roles, I will have to do a lot of things that I see others in the industry doing. For me, that would be suicidal.
Are you speaking about compromises actors have to make?
As soon as you say compromise, it sounds like we're speaking of sleeping around for work. But there are worse things happening in Kolkata. Industry people have to go to all kinds of rallies and marches and show their dancing and performing skills at programmes in the memory of everyone from Kishore Kumar to Swami Vivekananda ��� and all because they have to belong to a certain gang! And these are the same faces who regularly work in certain films. So there are two options: you either do your kind of work without saying yes to these things, or you say yes and get more work.

So is there a problem of thinking, of ideology?
You tell me honestly, is anyone thinking at all? I don't think so. There's a clear line between who is following which political ideology and party outfit.Most of the industry people we see at political functions, do they have any ideology? Do they understand politics? It seems that they're there for the attendance, to say ���present please". If you can do that, you'll not feel left out. But then, if I were to go and even say ���present please", would I get the sort of roles I want? I don't think so, only quantity and volume will increase, not the quality .
Having seen you over the past many months, one gets the feeling that you don't have too many friends in the industry.
(Cuts in) I don't make friends.
But you must be having some friends...
I have loads of friends from school and university. It's just that they're not from the industry. Of course, Mainak is there. But I don't even think of him as someone from the industry. I know him from the time when few in the industry knew him. That he's made a name as a filmmaker doesn't change anything between us. Actually, I'm happy I don't have friends from the workplace because from personal experience, I've seen that most of them go home and bitch about people. They'll run people down till 2 am at an adda, and next morning you'll see them writing glowing things about the same persons on Twitter! That gets to me.
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So hypocrisy is the biggest problem here?
It is not a problem, it is a way of life! People don't even think it to be a problem.
Last year, when the Singapore incident happened, no one from the industry stood by you...
I didn't expect it either. There were people who called up and genuinely wanted to offer support, even if that number is just five or six. It's not that they're great friends or I meet them every day, but they were concerned. Otherwise, everything here has become so politicized that I don't expect anything. So you either belong to the ruling combine or to the opposition ��� and I don't expect people from either side calling me. In fact, Swastika Mukherjee in trouble is a good scoop for anyone (laughs). They just love talking about me. They must be waking up every morning, thinking, ���Ok, what's going to happen in Swastika's life today?" So, 2014 was an amazing year for them. The whole year they got to talk about me! I didn't go to my film premieres or parties, I'm not clicked every day by the media. But I'm talked about 365 and �� days a year, free mein! What more can they want from life?
Do you want to speak about what happened in Singapore?
There's no point talking about it, since other people ��� or one other person ��� had taken that responsibility. He had taken it upon himself to malign me and thought it was his moral duty to save the world. My only regret is that my holiday got affected. It was planned months in advance. And people actually thought I had eloped!
But as the shoplifting allegations against you got reported in the media, you didn't speak to anyone.Wasn't that an error of judgment? Because your silence made the rumours sound more legitimate...
I actually did not want to dignify the matter with a response. Had I spoken, people would have said I was trying to defend myself. Many times in my life, people have used this word about me ��� ���unapologetic". But to whom should I say sorry, and why the f**k should I? Whatever I say , people will believe what is easiest and most convenient for them to believe.
How much of a support was Lal (Suman Mukhopadhyay) during this difficult period?
Enormous. He was there with me at all times. I was constantly on the phone with my family in Kolkata, trying to understand what was going on back home. They were actually more worried than I was, since so many different stories were coming out. Lal was there with me and he handled me pretty well (smiles). Well, handling me is a very difficult job.
And does he do that well?
He does it well ��� sometimes (laughs loudly). I'm not short-tempered, but when I get angry, I'm just unimaginably bad. But then, you have to really push me that far.
Has he been a calming influence on your life?
But I'm never calm! As for him, he's a great person and a wonderful human being. I just keep my fingers crossed that this relationship too doesn't go down the drain. I share an enormous comfort level with him. I can talk to him about any sh*t. I can be completely myself, in ways in which even he doesn't want me to be. He will be much happier if I'm not so much of myself (laughs)! From the time I've been with him, I've seen that look on people's faces that says, ���What do the two of them talk about?"

So settle the question once and for all. What do you guys talk about?
Whenever people ask me this, I tell them, ���Why waste my time talking? There's so much to do!" (breaks into peals of laughter). But we're like any other couple. When we're together, he's probably sitting in one corner and reading Alice Munro, while I'm probably watching Desperate Housewives. Sometimes I ask him to watch Sex and the City with me and I can see the fear in his eyes! When we're with his friends, it's a different atmosphere. They're all so well-read and informed and maybe it so happens that they're talking about shows on TV. And then suddenly, all of them are trashing Big Boss. At that moment, I can't take it any longer and I have to stand up and say I love the show. Then there's five seconds of hushed silence. Then there are times when he's not here, and I call him up and it always starts with me saying, ���Do you have five minutes? Because I have to give you this juicy gossip." He listens to me so patiently. At times, I look at his face and think that he's so not the sort of person who will be interested in such small matters. I hope he survives handling me (smiles).
How do people react to the relationship?
I've seen them get really jealous and whisper ��� ���They're still together? He's still with her?" It seems some people genuinely look forward to breakups. Forget being happy for a couple, they can't even stand the sight of two people being happy together. It's not that I've ever wanted to flaunt my relationship publicly . But so many things have happened over the past year that if I say that we're just friends, I will be making such a joke of myself! Destiny has taken away that option where I could tell anyone that Lal and I are ���just friends!" Though I'm so open about my relationship, people will say -���Oh, they were holding hands," or ���Oh, I saw them kiss!" Arre, what is the problem? I will kiss him if I want to, I can hold his hand and be with him when I want to. Can it be a topic of discussion that the two us were staying in the same room? Well, what did you expect? If I'm travelling with him, did you expect us to sit at different tables and eat? Or sleep in different rooms? Please, why can't people grow up! Actually, they think we will keep it under wraps and fake it. The more confident you are about your relationship, the more difficult they find it to accept. Anyway, I've given some people the responsibility to talk about me. It's a full-time 24*7 job, the payscale is huge ��� because they become very important people, everyone listens to them. Whereas I can stay very relaxed and enjoy life.
Are the two of you looking forward to a future together?
There's no point thinking about it now. I've been through that before, where I've thought about the future and seen it turn messy and terrible. We have a lot of issues to sort out and settle. Firstly, I'm not an easy person to be with. It's very difficult for a man to take this unapologetic, I-don't-care attitude from a partner. I'm very good in a lot of ways. I can take care of someone, I'm loyal and committed. You know, cheating is so easy, especially if you're a celebrity, don't look ugly and have assets to boast of. There are so many options. So I'm proud that when it comes to keeping someone's faith, I can even challenge the almighty. But nothing can come between me and my work, even if I have to leave everyone for it. Just before the release of Take One, a picture was published, in which I'm nude and just have ropes wrapped around me. I was really expecting him to freak out, since I've seen people freaking out over much smaller matters. And the most amazing thing was, he did not react at all! Now, that actually freaked me out. So, workwise I'm much more relaxed with him since I don't have to think about how he will react.
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How does your daughter get along with Suman?
It's okay. She's not a kid anymore. The way her generation looks at the world and at relationships is very different from ours. For them, there is the family and the rest of the world can go to hell. So she meets him on and off, but I don't put any pressure on her that she has to adjust with him. That age is gone. I don't really want to involve her in anything unless I'm 1,000% sure of what is going to happen. As for my parents, they know that unless I feel that something is not happening, there's no point telling me anything. Finally, like all parents, they want me to be happy . If that is going haywire, they will intervene. Since I stay with my parents, if they have to tell me anything they will tell me clearly on my face.
Sexy screen diva, concerned mother, loyal partner ��� so which is the real Swastika Mukherjee?
All of them are real. In fact, I hear this from a lot of people, that ���she's very different". Maybe it's because of the characters I play, but people seem to think that I'm this completely gone case, that I drink from the morning and my parents don't take care of me. This happened especially after Take One released. The funny thing is that's just not me. Yes, I love to drink, but that does not make me an alcoholic. If you ask people who the real Swastika is, they will give you a long list of attributes, but do they really know me? I like this air of mystery around me. Maybe Mainak can tell you something about the real me, Lal can absolutely tell you about the real me! I've told him that if we're ever not together anymore, he can open this bhandar of dukhbhari kahaani in front of people and gain so much of sympathy . ���You'll have dozens of things to complain about. What famous you are now, you will actually become famous then!", I've said to him. Sometimes I get this feeling that by the time I've lived my life, I would have gathered so many experiences, more than what most people can get in one lifetime. Just enormous bags of experience! And all of it makes me so much stronger, and so much better as an actor.

ON JOINING THE HISTORIC HOKKOLOROB MARCH AND THE BACKLASH THAT FOLLOWED
My first reason to join the march was that I was a student of JU. Students were getting beaten up, and this was being denied outright. The lying just got to me.There was a lot of nonsense happening and no one was wanting to take any responsibility. No one anyway wants to take any responsibility in our state. So as soon as I got to know of the Esplanade march, I thought that if I don't go, I'd just be like everyone else, protesting and rebelling only on Facebook. I was completely aware of what would follow after I joined the march, but I wasn't prepared for the volume and the severity of the backlash. But my skin has become very thick and It doesn't affect me if people malign me. The easiest thing to say about a woman is that she's a whore and she's spreading her legs and sleeping around. When people are talking about celebs, it becomes all the more easy to brand them in that way. I've been hearing all of it for so long... earlier they would say it in a personal space, now they write it on placards and take out processions.There is no essential difference in what they are saying.Yet, when you meet people outside this space, they appreciate you for taking a stand. Tell me, how many people in the industry have you seen taking a stand?