Basabdatta Chatterjee: I had to say no to Buddhadeb Dasgupta as I wasn’t comfortable with a scene

Basabdatta Chatterjee received critical acclaim after working in Aditya Vikram Chatterjee’s Asha Jaoar Majhe with Ritwick Chakraborty. Known to be a selective actress, she has done a handful of films and a few serials. She spent her childhood in a 135-year-old house in central Kolkata. She did not have siblings but had many cousins, who are still her support system, especially when her kid needs to be taken care of while she shoots. Her husband is a journalist. Now she is gearing up for a comeback on TV.

Talking to Anandabazar Online, Basabdatta confessed that she is a selective actress. “ I am choosy. I played lead in three serials. I need some time for myself between two consecutive serials. It also happened that I was approached with a character, talks were initiated but then I was dropped out for some unknown reason,” she said. Remembering one such incident, she said, “Some of them are big directors working under big banners. I remember I was doing Netaji at that time. He kept in contact with me for two years. We also talked about how many days I need for shooting. It was confirmed that I would be doing the role, and I told others also. Then I read in the newspaper that the director started this work with some other actress. Then I messaged him that I would never do any more work with him. People do not have the decency to inform.” 

Basabdatta got an offer to work in Kaushik Ganguly’s Jyeshthoputro but the timing did not match and she regrets that. However, she is also very particular about her character. “I do not have a problem wearing knee-length dresses but I have some reservations about some scenes. Buddhadeb Dasgupta called me for his film Urojahaj. I met him. But there was a scene that I could not do. And I told him so. Another such work had a liplock scene. I rejected that also,” she said.