Exclusive! Dibyendu Bhattacharya: I don't feel bad if someone I voted for disappoints me

Dibyendu Bhattacharya started making headlines once again for his role in Huma Qureshi’s Maharani 2. The actor became a part of the show and played a memorable character that is now etched onto people’s minds. We at OTTplay caught up with the actor to discuss the project, Jamtara 2, Rocket Boys 2, Aar Ya Paar and much more.

Excerpts from the interview…

In Maharani 2, you had less screen time than other pivotal characters on the show but were still quite impactful. Was this like a teaser so that we can see you in a full-fledged role in the upcoming season?

Yeah, yeah, hopefully. If you see, it isn't a really small character. The last two episodes are completely mine. The whole season starts with me. That was a big point. There are many quirks that excited me for Maharani 2. The guy is an IAF officer. At the same time, he is a theatre fan. Hopefully, he will come back for season 3.

Reportedly, the show is inspired by real events. Is your character also loosely based on someone?

That I really don't know. The thing is that all the characters could be related. Some could feel it's a story of Rabri Devi, others might feel it's a story about Nitish Kumar or Lalu Prasad Yadav whereas that isn't the fact. You can only take inspiration but these characters are totally different. There are events which never happened in these politician's lives.

We could think in that ambigous direction but it is not like that. Maybe my director or writer took some inspiration but I have no clue about that.

Common people assume that the political world is indeed full of corrupt people and is known as an evil world, which has been shown in the show too. What's your thought on that?

My view is completely different. Doctors, engineers, artists and chefs are a profession. Politics and political leader are professionals. They invest, work for 5-10 years, which is also when they earn back.

Our problem is that we romanticize. We dream that our leaders would take us somewhere. They are a representative who pay money to get a ticket from their party. They influence you in a way that you take your problems to them and they give you an illusion that they are working for you when in reality, they are working for themselves.

No matter the political party, these political leaders are actually professionals. They think about how much they can earn in politics vs other professions.

That is why I don't take politics to heart. I don't feel bad if someone who I voted for disappoints me. This is a career. It's a political career. That's my viewpoint of politics.

Did you ever feel like joining politics in order to be able to bring out a change?

(Laughs) I would feel many things - that if I were someone then I would do a particular thing for the country. Although I don't know if I could get to do it.

If you don't have the money, no party will give you a ticket. If you don't have the power, why will any party give you the ticket? They also need to make profit.

You can't expect a change in India because of how politics is treated as a profession. We will stay like that - voting for someone new every time but nobody would do anything good for you.

Regardless, that is why I'm an actor. I would work and earn money. Entertaining people is my work and I would keep doing that. You don't need to get emotional just because something doesn't work out.

Apart from you, which character from Maharani 2 seemed really impactful to you?

Maharani, of course. Huma Qureshi. She's done a fantastic job. A lot of actors have done their job but Huma is really good.

As Maharani 2 ended on a big cliffhanger, what is the update on the third season?

I don't have an update yet. It is yet to be written. Once that happens, then we will go on floors and who knows when can it release. I have no clue.

In the previous seasons, we followed the story and moved forward. That story will be taken forward but it would be interesting to see what happens ahead.

Tell me about Aar Ya Paar. What can we expect from you there?

I can tell you that it will release on Disney+Hotstar. The trailer/teaser is out and you can only imagine what will happen there. I have a voiceover in the promo, so you can only guess what all can happen. This is a bingeworthy show. You would not want to leave your screen once you sit to watch this one. Let it unfold. It would be interesting how the series begins and where it goes.

None of our series that are working right now, are run-of-the-mill. You will have to wait for this series to know more.

We just saw the teaser of Rocket Boys 2. Can we expect you again on that show?

Yes, the story evolves and I will be there on the show. The story is the same. It is about the Indian scientist. Vikram Sarabhai and Homi Bhabha are the real characters. Their history will be there and eventually, APJ Abdul Kalam will also come. Their characters will replay what happened in history.

Raza, played by me, is an amalgamation of many real characters. He takes the story forward in the way of a divide. He's a part of their destiny.

We even came across Jamtara 2 trailer but you were missing from it. Are you a part of the show?

Yes, I'm still a part of it. We started shooting for it after many months. It was with Voot and then went to Netflix. There was editing, dubbing and the show took its logistic time. It depends on the audiences now - if season 2 is better than one, same or just how they feel about the show.

Here also, the story is moving forward and new characters enter the show. He's in the audience jurisdiction. There is cinema-oriented art which stays which you. This is not out-of-sight out-of-mind kind of show. You can always go back and watch the show.

It will be there on the public domain and they will share if they liked it or not. I believe in these things and thus, I don't even see the monitor. Once I deliver in the scenes, that's where my work ends. I don't take a responsibility of a film. I'm not the director and a film is a director's baby. I bring out my craft to execute the director's vision. When he/she says that my scene was sorted, then I move on to the next thing.

Where can we expect to see Dibyendu Bhattacharya next?

There are many projects I'm doing but I can't talk about that. I can't even reveal the story or my role because it won't be fun later. Take the example of Maharani 2. If I tell everyone that the show opens with my scene, then the suspense is lost.