Exclusive: Bony Sengupta: We cannot constantly make headline-oriented films. We need commercially successful mainstream cinema to survive

Bony Sengupta and Koushani Mukherjee are currently committed to almost four-five films. On July 29, their Antarjal will be released in theatres. Meanwhile, they have also started shooting Shubho Bijoya and will soon shoot Rater Shohor and others. In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Bonny talks about his new projects, his tiff and makeup with Koushani and his love for the big screen.  

Bony and Koushani play husband and wife in Prarjun Majumder’s Antarjal. Lahari (Koushani) is a writer and her husband, Apurba (Bonny), goes missing. “It is a women-centric film that also deals with issues like domestic violence, etc. I play a small character here. When Prarjun came to me he said that it was a small character and much of Apurba is seen in the flashback. I clearly told him not to do anything forcefully to show me more on the screen. It is not a hero-oriented film. It is a character-oriented film and I liked the script. I have no problem working in a smaller role in a character-intensive film,” Bonny tells us. 

After their speculated tiff, Bony and Koushani are back with a bang with about four to five films together. “Yes, we fought, like every couple in the world. We were not getting time for ourselves. We took some time off to cool down and everything went right. All the couples fight. But we became the news because of our celebrity status I guess,” says the actor. 

The duo has started their production house. They are working on Haranath Chakraborty’s next, Dal Bati Churma. After 11 days of shooting the Kolkata leg of the film is done. On August 4, they will go to Rajasthan to shoot for four days. “In the film, I play a non-Bengali boy. We are done with the Kolkata leg of shooting and we will be doing the Rajasthan part in August,” Bony says.

Talking about his experience of working with Haranath Chakraborty, Bony says, “There is no shortcut with Harakaku. I have worked with him in Bhootchakra Pvt Ltd. I know what he wants. Directors like Harakaku, Swapankaku (Saha) , my dad (Anup Sengupta, director) and others never resorted to shortcuts. Instead of depending on their assistants, they would do certain things themselves. They are old school. In a scene where I am supposed to get drenched in rain, Harakaku would also stand in the rain and get drenched. No wonder their films used to run for weeks.” 

Bony also points out that it was their generation who used to understand family drama better. “I feel that we don’t make enough commercial family dramas these days. The family films that we get are in the pattern of Shibuda (Shuboprosad Mukherjee) and Nanditadi’s (Roy) sentimental family stories. The new and young directors are more willing to make suspense thrillers, dark dramas and comedies. I believe directors like Harakaku are adept at making mainstream Bengali family drama. In Dal Bati Churma, we are trying to do just that. We are making it with great care. We are shooting it well with DOP Gopi Bhagat. The script is nice. I hope that people will like a film like this one,” says the actor. 

Bony also thinks that one needs to take care of the mainstream masala films in Bengal. “We have a lot of people who make suspense thrillers. We cannot constantly make headline-oriented films. We need commercially successful mainstream cinema to survive. We need to also focus on mainstream commercial films that are larger than life. Look at the South cinemas and Bollywood. They are also making a lot of larger-than-life commercial films.” says the actor. 

Bony still prefers the big screens over OTT. “I grew up watching the works of papa, Maa (Pia Sengupta) and my grandfather (actor-director Sukhen Das). They all worked on big screens. I still prioritise that. I got a few offers from the local and national OTT platforms. But I still like theatres. Also, I feel it is too tiring to go for an audition and then wait in anxiety to see if I am selected or not. I am doing well with my films, thanks,” quips Bonny.