Exclusive! Riddhi Sen on Bismillah: Shehnai is a difficult instrument and playing that on screen was a challenge

National Award-winning actor Riddhi Sen’s performance in Bismillah has been appreciated by critics. The actor plays a character of a young shehnai player and flautist in a remote Bengal village. In a chat with OTTplay, he talks about his preparations and a lot more…

After Dharmajuddha, now it is Bismillah that has been facing a boycott call. From Bollywood, it has reached Tollywood also…

It is a very sad situation. First, it was Dharmajuddho and now it is Bismillah. It is sad because the majority of the people who are crying to boycott any of the films did not bother to watch them even once. More often, it is the faceless trolls from fake profiles asking to boycott the film. By now we all know that they are politically motivated paid netizens funded with a clear agenda in mind. This is not what common people want. These are hatemongers who want to upset the syncretic ethos of our society.

There is also a scary part to it. The film industry is also one of the biggest employers in our society. So many people get work here. If such boycott calls go on and if the business of the films is affected by this then producers and makers will be discouraged to invest in films. That will not be good news for our economy as a whole. Anyway, the pandemic has hit us so badly. Also, today it is a film, tomorrow it could be something else. We have seen instances that Tv commercials had to be retracted because of online trolls. We cannot just give in. Let people judge a film by its merit.

Tell us about Bismillah. What drew you to the film and how did you prepare…

The first thing that drew me to Bismillah was the fact that despite being comparatively new in direction and production, the makers did not blankly cling to safe and bankable subjects. They could have made a linear story with known and tested tropes. Instead, they chose a subject like Indian classical music and the harmony that is associated with it.

When it comes to my preparations, I must admit that we could not afford enough time to learn shehnai. I can see some mistakes and I wish I could do it a little differently. But it is a fact that we don’t get that amount of time due to various constraints. Shehnai is a very difficult instrument and that was one of the biggest challenges for me.

Was it challenging to romance with Subhashree?

Also read: Bismillah review: Kaushik Ganguly, Gaurav Chakrabarty and Riddhi Sen shine bright in Bengal’s very own musical 

Romancing Subhashree was not difficult at all. Due to my theatre background, I have a bunch of friends who are elder than me. I have always been open to the idea of being close with older friends. Hence, technically, it was not a challenge. Also, I believe love has its sexual side as well. Suibhashree and I did not have any serious discussions before shooting. Much of it was an improvisation that followed a nonstructured progression. We were extremely comfortable portraying our intimacy and bonding.

You have been working with Surangana for years. Does your camaraderie help?

With Surangana, I have worked in Open Tee Bioscope, Samantaral, Sharate Aaj, and a little in Tiki-Taka. Besides, we paired up on stage in Taraye Taraye and Hamlet. We belong to a very comfortable zone and that has its pros and cons. When you know a person extremely well, you keep on second-guessing their move. Surangana and I have been spending time with each other for far too long and unlearning her moves was a challenge.

Kajol wished you luck. Are you in touch with her?

I am in touch with Kajol on and off ever since Helicopter Eela. I send her updates and always get a very prompt reply. I share things with her and she takes interest in my projects. She always wishes me luck. Another person who keeps in touch is Vidya Balan. It has been a while since we worked together in Kahaani. But that bonding remained. She also encourages me on my projects.

Tell us about your other projects…

I am working on two films with Pavel – Daktar Kaku with Bumbada (Prosernjit Chatterjee) and Mon Kharap with baba (Kaushik Sen) and Ankush. I am also focusing on my directorial work. Rwitobroto, Surangana, and I have started talking about new projects.

Meanwhile, your play Hamlet has been quite popular…

Hamlet was an eye opener for all of us as it has given us housefull shows. We staged it at the Academy, Madhusudan Mancha and Girish Mancha and all the shows were extremely successful.

Are you planning for anything on OTT?

Sundarboner Vidyasagar has received extremely positive reactions. I did not expect that. I am in talks with Hoichoi and something new will come up soon.