Raj is a nari-kendric director!: Soham, Abir and Rudranil

The three male protagonists of Raj Chakraborty's Katmundu are the best of friends on screen, and off it too. And when the three got together for an adda with CT, they had a lot to say about the film, the two heroines, Mimi Chakraborty and Srabanti, and of course, the director. Excerpts:
In a recent interview to CT, Mimi and Srabanti said you three were boring; you preferred to sleep while they went paragliding...
Soham: They can only complain about us and hardly promote the film! We seem to be indispensable for them.
Abir Chatterjee: We lead a disciplined life -we work and then go off to sleep, as normal human beings generally do. If someone wants to lead a different life, it's up to them. They showed courage by paragliding, and we exhibited it by singing our own song and dancing. So, the ratio is 1:2 in terms of courage. We also rode a boat on Pokhara Lake, which is 80 feet deep. So, the list of what we did is endless.... Both Mimi and Srabanti are our co-actresses, so we respect them.
Rudranil Ghosh: They are excited because they went paragliding for the first time. We did it a long time back.Good they did it at the production house's expense.
They even said they had beaten up the heroes, as they've done a lot of action sequences in the film...
R: If anyone boasts about beating someone up, then I've nothing to say.
Is it true that both Abir and Soham are super boring and only Rudranil used to play pranks on the girls?
A & S: We take it as a compliment! I hope our better halves read this (both laugh).
R: Mimi and Srabanti used to be locked up in their rooms when not shooting. So, there was hardly any chance to play pranks on them.
Both claim that the Eto alo song has got more hits than your song Aamra korina peyaji...
R: It only proves that Anupam Roy (composer) can create hits. They have been giving matkas and jhatkas to various songs in 40-something costumes in locations ranging from Diamond Harbour to Switzerland. But those never got so many hits. But throughout this song, both wear the same set of clothes, and it's still a rage.
S: True. And Rajda has directed and cho reographed the song so well that the duo hardly had to do anything. The landscape and the music did the talking. A: I don't understand why both Mimi and Srabanti are behaving as if we three are not part of Katmundu. We are equally proud of them for making the song Eto alo popular. Katmundu is our as well as the audience's film; they will laugh and cry with us.
S: Yes, the subject of the film is very relatable. Three guys get desperate for a break after their boss (Saswata Chatterjee) makes them work like dogs and denies them leave. So they lie.... And one lie leads to another, leading to hilarious situ ations. I'm sure the audience will love the film.
R: True, it's a fun film that's a must watch during the festive season. That apart, people will relate to it, as at some point of time, all of us have lied to our seniors for a holiday .
S: Then again, when you go holidaying with friends, you discover more about them. That adds a new dimension to friendships. The audience will identify with that too.
Both Mimi and Srabanti said they did this film so that they could cut your mundus...
A: The script demands it.
They had to abide by it.
How is Raj as a director?
A: A hard taskmaster. He made us slog like dogs! R: There was this location where the temperature was minus four degrees. Raj made me wear a white costume, lift Roja, the heroine, and run! She must be barely 15 kilos, but then, she seemed to weigh 3,500 kilos! With hardly any oxygen, we shot there for six hours, when one can hardly stay there for an hour. I nearly died. Need I say more?
S: I have vertigo and whenever I told Rajda about my problem in doing a scene, he would put on a blank face and say we should go ahead with the shot; if I met with an accident, he would take me to a hospital, as there was an ambulance on standby . That's how he works.
Was Raj partial to the two heroines on the sets?
S: Nari kendric director toh Raj... what to do (laughs)!
A & R: Let's put it this way -is Raj partial towards the heroines or are the heroines partial towards him? It's like whether the egg came first or the chicken! R: See, a director is like a father on the sets. At home, when a father sees that one child out of three is not so good in studies, he puts in extra effort to make that child better. Likewise, on the sets, Raj had to guide the two actresses, as they were not on a par with us in terms of acting.
A: A total sixer!
In the last interview, both heroines constantly imitated how you three talk...
A: We do copy Amitabh Bachchan because he is our idol. Likewise, Mimi and Srabnati are influenced by their idols -Rudra, Soham and me. Both idolize us, so they imitate us.
S & R: High five on that Abir!
Has the bonding between the three friends grown stronger after this film?
R: Definitely. We three are actors; stardom comes much later, so we bonded on that.
A: Before every scene, we used to discuss how it could be better. So, it was a learning process too.
Dev, who is part of Shudhu Tomari Jonyo, is a crowd puller. Do you three feel jittery about that?
R: Katmundu has content, so we are confident about our film.
S: Yes, it stands apart from many .
A: If Durga Puja means friendship, bonding, having fun and masti, then Katmundu is the film to watch out for.