Exclusive! Barkha Sengupta: I use Indraneil’s surname because I am still married in papers

Barkha Sengupta is all geared up for her new film Shrimati, which also features Swastika Mukherjee, Soham Chakraborty, Trina Saha, and Kheya Chattopadhyay. Directed by Arjun Dutta, the film deals with the perceptions that women fight with every day. In a candid chat with OTTplay, Barkha talks about her character Mallika, her means to fight social conventions and her separation from her husband, Indraneil Sengupta. Read on…

‘My character in Shrimati is not like the real me at all’

The film delves into the life of Shrimati, played by Swastika, who is happily married to Soham Chakraborty. While she finds joy in making her family happy, social pressure builds up on her to oomph up her life, be health conscious, lose weight and so on. “I play Mallika, wife of Soham’s boss. Mallika is a glamorous, party-throwing, socialite. She is a young woman who is married to someone who is slightly aged. She cares about society and is very conscious about the way women look. She won’t eat oily food and talks only about salad. She looks down upon women who are elusive about their appearance or are not conscious. Mallika is funny and if you look at her, she is quite harmless too. She lives in her world. She is a well-maintained, socialising woman who throws parties often and is surprised at the fact that how can a woman only cook and spend days in her house. Mallika is not like the real me at all,” the actress tells us.

Shrimati deals with perceptions that a woman has to encounter. The trailer of the film shows that Swastika’s character succumbs to the pressure of society’s expectation of being smart, going out, adding glamour and losing weight and in the process, Shrimati eventually loses her identity and happiness.

Talking about this pressure that society thrusts on people, Barkha says that it is social media that is making life more difficult. “I am happy that Arjun has picked a topic like this. These days, social media has become larger than life. It looks like we are always having a good time that is void of any loss, heartbreaks and so on. Everyone is wearing nice clothes and holidaying in beautiful places. But that is not all about your life. We have pains and traumas,” says Barkha, who admits that she tries to keep social media as close to her reality as possible.

She also admits that an actress is always expected to look and talk a certain way and post certain things. “My Instagram is as close to my real life and I keep away from reel life. My posts are often with my daughter (Meira),” she explains.

Also read: Exclusive! Arjunn Dutta on Shrimati: Swastika and Soham’s chemistry is amazing in the film 

Barkha also points out that the real problem is when people start believing that the life that is portrayed in cinema is how they live. “People around you believe that the image you portray is who you are. But that’s not all. You also start believing that the life you portray is who you are. And we lose touch with reality. It is quite a fight, more so for the younger generation. This film tries to break that,” says the actress.

‘National television contents are very regressive’

Ever since her debut in the entertainment industry, Barkha has been working in television and films simultaneously. Now, she has started working in OTTs as well. Talking about acting on different platforms, she said that each of the platforms is widely different from the other. “Each has different stories and different styles to tell the stories. For example, the stories told on national television are very regressive. It has its reason. It caters to those who constantly deal with kitchen politics and hence they are connected to the contents easily. Films are broader but films are also performance-oriented. How a film performs impacts a lot on the other films. OTT is my favourite. The storytelling on OTT is brilliant. The content is often character-driven. A heroine is also an integral character in an OTT content,” says Barkha, who has recently worked on Kamini on the Bengali streaming platform, Hoichoi.

Will there be a second season of Kamini? “We will have to ask Monida (Mahendra Soni, one of the heads of Hoichoi),” Barkha says, with a laugh. “We were in talks about the second season when Covid came,” she adds.

‘Breaking a marriage is not easy’

As per reports, Barkha and Indraneil have parted ways after spending years getting married. Barkha is still seen using her husband’s surname officially. Talking about her surname, she says that she is still married to Indraneil and she will continue to use his surname as long as they are married. “Honestly, I use my husband’s surname because we are still married on pen and paper. I will continue to use Sengupta as long as we stay married. If and when we part ways officially, I shall change my surname,” says Barkha.

Talking about separation, she says that as of now, no step of legal separation has been taken. “Neil (Indraneil) and I are not together but it is not easy to end a marriage. On paper, I am still married and so I am using my husband’s surname,” the actress signs off.