Bijoyar Pore-actress Swastika Mukherjee on working with newcomer directors: I remember my days of rejections

Swastika Mukherjee is known for working with new directors. This year at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival, two of her films – Bijoyar Pore and Matripaksha – were screened. Bijoyar Pore is Abhijit SriDas’s debut feature film while Matripaksha is directed by a fresh director Rajesh Roy. Swastika makes sure to work with newcomers, along with the big directors she works with.

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Talking about her willingness to work with new directors, Swastika said that she remembers the rejections she used to get when she was young. “I worked with new directors all my life,” declared Swastika. But is there anything she checks on? She confirmed that she checks their previous work before committing. “It can be anything – their short films, documentaries, or ad films. This is to get an idea of their aesthetics,” said the actress. 

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For Swastika, the script is very important, and how she is contributing to the film. “This is not about the screen time but the relevance of the character is important for me. And finally, I see the team – DOP, editor, chief AD. They are the driving force and they actually run the show. It would be to work with a new director with a new DOP. Also, it is important to know who will make the film on the table. They need to be good,” she said 

Swastika admitted that making a film is just a small part of a big war. Releasing and running the film is much tougher a job. If you are a new director it means you don’t have solid producers. I try to promote my films to the best of my ability,” the actress remembered.