Dibyendu Bhattacharya: I have a lot of respect for Anurag Kashyap despite Bombay Velvet’s failure

Dibyendu Bhattacharya’s journey in films hasn’t been a walk on the bed of roses, but the talented actor is passionate about his work and does not believe in quitting.
Having started off his career with Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, the actor has films like Black Friday, Lootera and B.A. Pass to his credit. However, he is best known for his outstanding portrayal of Chunni Babu in Anurag Kashyap’s Dev.D.Dibyendu plays an important role in Subhash Kapoor’s Guddu Rangeela, wherein he stars alongside Arshad Warsi, Amit Sadh and Aditi Rao Hydari. Over a telephonic conversation, he talks about his new film, his struggling days in Bollywood and why he has immense respect for Anurag Kashyap. Excerpts:
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Tell us about your character.
I cannot reveal much about my character but what I can tell you is that it is the driving factor of the film. Guddu Rangeela, despite being a socio-political film, is a light-hearted entertainer. With my character being present in the film, different aspects of the story come into light.
How was it working with Subhash Kapoor?
He is a fantastic director. He is clear about what he wants from each of his actors. He works hard on the transition of characters. Also, he pays special attention to how his characters will speak and react in different scenes of the film. When you have a director like this, half of the journey is done. He always comes on the sets with a cool mind. It’s only when things are not managed properly, he gets a little angry, which I think is very normal and justified.
A critic once praised Subhash saying that he is the student of the school where Rajkumar Hirani is the principal. What do you have to say on that?
I think both Subhash Kapoor and Raju Hirani are the students of the school where Hrishikesh Mukherjee is the principal. I think when you are the writer-director of the film, your vision about the film is very clear. There is no chance of the conflict. It is very common in the industry that a writer and director are not on the same page and the outcome of the film suffers because of that. The best thing about Subhash and Raju sir is that they write their own films.
Tell us about your co-stars Arshad Warsi and Amit Sadh.
Both of them are great people to work with. I have earlier worked with Arshad in Goal, so I share a nice relationship with him. And about Amit, he is a very energetic guy. Three of us used to hang out a lot and had great fun on and off the sets. When we were working, we were strictly focused on our work. The atmosphere on the sets was chilled out and I enjoyed each and every moment of shooting this film.
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You are still remembered for your role of Chunni Babu from Dev.D. Why did we not get to see you in an Anurag Kashyap film thereafter?
I am always ready to work with Anurag. Despite Bombay Velvet’s failure, I have a lot of respect for him. Whatever people think of him, I will always have immense respect for the man. He is truly the game changer of the Hindi film industry. I remember when Black Friday was struggling for its release, he had promised me that if the film works, he will cast me as Chunni Lal in Dev.D. About working with him again, I would just say that things could not work out. Since he is now into a big league and is working with big names like Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, chances of actors like us getting cast in a film like this become less. Audience hamare naam pe picture nahi dekhne aati.
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Is the Hindi film industry cruel?
I think it is partially a cruel industry. It is and then again, it is not. It is because of this industry that I have survived in a city like Mumbai. However, the same industry has made me suffer a lot. I am a National School of Drama alumnus of batch 1994-97. Rajpal Yadav was my batchmate and Nawazuddin Siddiqui was a year senior to me. I have done a lot of theatre in Kolkata and then in Delhi. It was in 2000 that I shifted my base to Mumbai with hopes to working in films. I clearly remember how directors would ask me to give my photographs to watchmen. A television director once auditioned me while having his food. I would start reading dialogues but he wouldn’t just leave his food. I was very much disheartened then, but never left hope.
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Shikha Joshi was your co-star in B.A. Pass. How was she like?
I never got to meet her but the news of her suicide came as a shocker. Ajay Behl (Director, B.A. Pass) had sent me a message on WhatsApp informing me about her suicide. I think one should never even think of suicide, come what may. If there is injustice, one needs to fight back and not take such a horrible step.
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Have you figured out the formula of success yet?
Not yet. If I had, I would have become Amitabh Bachchan by now. I am working hard. I never crib even if the circumstances are not in my favour. I am a soldier who is fighting it off every day. And yes, I will never commit suicide. (laughs)
Photo credits: Yashoda Latkar
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