Angshuman and Arjo are household names in Kolkata and in most Bengali houses in Shillong. And so is Indrajit Chakravarty, especially after he was adjudged the Favourite Actor by Star Jalsa Parivar Award 2018 last month.
Chakravarty, alias Angshu alias Arjo, is closer to Bengalis, and Assamese to a great extent, in Shillong. Born and brought up in Umpling in the hill city, the popular actor says despite staying in Kolkata for a few years now, his heart still beats for Shillong. “I am a Shillongite and will remain so,” he clarifies when asked about his love for the city of joy.
Acting was not something that Chakravarty, whose real name is Bivash, had planned when he was in college. However, he would often walk the ramp for a designer friend in Guwahati. It was at one of these fashion shows that Chakravarty was spotted by Assamese director Bani Das, “who was looking for a fresh face”.
“After I finished the management course in Kolkata I came back to Shillong because my father was ailing. I joined Reliance Industries. While working there I lost my father. It was in this circumstance that one fine day I got a call for acting in the Assamese film Maharathi. I had no clue about acting but I took the offer,” says Chakravarty, who never had any formal training in acting but was lucky to work with big names in both the Assamese and the Bengali film industries. The veterans helped him in learning the art, he adds.
Das’s 2000 film Maharathi eventually became a big hit that augured well for Chakravarty who never looked back after that. He continued in the Assam film industry for a few years doing several films.
Chakravarty shifted to Kolkata in 2002. The city had more pleasant surprises in store for the upcoming actor who was approached by National Award winning filmmaker Raja Sen for his film Chakrabuha in 2012. Chakravarty was paired with leading Tollywood actress Rituparna Sengupta. Later, the film was nominated for National Awards.
“I again got the chance to act with the stalwarts of Bengali film industry. Senior actors both in Bengal and Assam helped me a lot to evolve as an actor,” says Chakravarty, who continued working in Bengali commercial movies, including the award winning Belasheshe.
The actor says over phone from Kolkata that when he signed the contract with Sen, he was not fluent in Bengali and the director wanted someone else to dub. “But I was adamant that I would do it and I worked hard to improve my pronunciation,” he adds.
He was felicitated by the Government of Meghalaya during the Panorama Film Festival three years ago.
Chakravarty’s list of awards is also long and includes Best Actor Award from the West Bengal government for two consecutive years, and Best Debutant Actor awards for both Maharathi and Chakrabuha.
Chakravarty’s fast rise on the silver screen suddenly came to a jolting halt when he developed a back injury. He had to stop working as the doctor suggested complete rest. Offers started drying up as he could do only a handful of films. He also produced a few telefilms during the time.
But nothing was a deterrence for Chakravarty who “started from scratch” once he recuperated from the ailment.
The determined actor got an offer from television and chose to take it. But films took a backseat. “When you are working in television it becomes difficult to take up a film project because you cannot spare dates,” says Chakravarty, whose first small screen venture was Dweep Jwele Jai on Zee Bangla, which became a hit.
After this, Chakravarty signed up for Kunda Phuler Mala on Star Jalsa. At present, the actor is taking a two-month break to complete his pending films.
Talking about the challenges of doing a film and a TV series, Chakravarty draws the analogy of reading a novel and a newspaper. “Doing films is like reading a novel. You have to work really hard and do a lot of research. Whereas serials are timebound and you have to come prepared and deliver everyday,” he notes.
But does the actor, who has worked in several regional films, think that the Bengali TV serials are all run-of-the-mill and need a serious introspection to compete with the changing face of television?
It is a mixed bag, feels Chakravarty. “There is no denying that plagiarism is there in some films where content is taken from other regional films. Nonetheless, Bengali films are going places. They are shot in exotic locations and have big budgets… so it will be wrong to say that they have nothing to offer. There are some TV series too which have unique stories. But while doing business one has to keep in mind what people want. If kitchen dramas are more popular then more thrust is on such series. So ultimately it is the audience’s call,” he explains.
But Chakravarty is open to experimenting. The actor says he would not mind plunging into a small-budget project if the script is good. “We have a vast digital platform now and many good directors are really doing good job in small budget. So why not,” he asserts. “I do not mind working in art house movies or with new directors from the North East provided there is a good script. And when you look for quality you cannot think about money,” the artiste concludes.
~ NM
