Bengali isn't regional cinema: Arghyakamal

After winning the Best Editing Award for 'Abohomaan', Arghyakamal Mitra tells TOI that his best is yet to come, even though he has already won a Rajat Kamal
You've said that though you've worked in award-winning films, you've always been given a miss. Do you think it was the faulty selection process or the presence of better films?
I think there were better films.I give my best to whatever work I do. The National Award is a competition of films from all over India. I haven't been watching all those movies. There must have been some better work that deserved those accolades.
Is 'Abohomaan' your best work till date?
It's an innovative work. My best is yet to come. I'd also like to mention a few other films of mine that are very close to me. They would be 'Kahini', 'Bariwali', 'Chokher Bali' and 'Antaheen'.
Directors, actors and even cinematographers can often get very possessive about their work while you edit them. How do you handle the requests for not editing out what they think is a brilliant piece of work?
I think, my film institute grooming has helped. A certain degree of possessiveness will always be there. The crisis doesn't hit me directly. Since I am a backroom boy, it only comes in the form of a suggestion. There have been actors who've said that they'd like it if I kept a good shot in a close-up. I do my kind of work and then, show it to them. Either they agree to it or they don't. Fortunately, I've never had a tiff with anyone regarding my choice. Apart from 'Unishe April', I've worked in all Rituparno Ghosh movies. He is a very protective person. But he also respects my judgement. Heunderstands that he has chosen me because of a certain quality that I have. In the interest of the film, directors don't want to hinder my work. That's why I'm given a lot of freedom.
You work with a lot of directors. It's not always that all of them get along very well with each other. How do you handle your inter-personal relations with them?
Rituparno is a friend and I have known him before he started directing movies. Anjan Dutt too is a friend. Suman Mukhopadhyay too is a friend. I give due respect to their emotional quotients and also expect all of them to give credence to my emotional sensibility. I always maintain that the final project is more important than individual agenda. It's sheer luck that I have never had any problems. Besides, people respect my maturity and seniority.
Have you done national projects?
What do we mean by national projects? It's sad that films made in Hindi have gained national importance. Bengali cinema shouldn't be considered regional work. Bengal surely isn't regional. We've had films of Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Goutam Ghose, Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh winning international acclaim. Tagore is the only language writer in India to get a Nobel Prize. Bengal has a national credibility. It's sad if it is given a subservient status since most projects from here deserve international and national standing. I've done two Hindi films (Rituparno Ghosh's 'Raincoat' and Anjan Dutt's 'BBD') and two English movies ('The Last Lear' and 'Bow Barracks Forever'). I wouldn't mind doing a song-and-dance film, provided it attracts me at the storyboard level.
Which are the film editors in India whose work you like?
I like Amitabha Chakraborty's work. I'm impressed by the way he sets up pace and rhythm.
The industry talks about your sense of humour. Do you love to pun?
Oh! I love punning though it's regarded as low-brow humour.
Have you coined anything about the National Awards?
I can't pun here since I am no pundit.
Any other samples of word jugglery?
Bindur chhele could be translated into English as spot boy. Solar cooker would be Rabi Thakur!
Follow us on Twitter for more stories