People came to watch Srijit’s audacity and my portrayal of Netaji: Prosenjit

Gumnaami saw Prosenjit Chatterjee deliver what would be one of his most challenging performances on screen - as both Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and also the mysterious Gumnaami Baba. On the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Calcutta Times spoke to the Bengali superstar about his creative process and the most rewarding moments during the journey.
What was your initial reaction when Srijit approached you to play the role of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in Gumnaami?
As with everything with Srijit, it started with a phone call, where he told me that I am supposed to play Netaji in the film, in a very matter-of-fact manner. I was stumped. For weeks, even months after that, I tried to convince him that I was okay with playing Gumnaami Baba but I completely disagreed with his idea of casting me as Subhash Chandra Bose. I mean, I do not look like Netaji from any angle. I was shooting for Mayurakshi at that point and for at least three to four months with my body weight, makeup we kept on experimenting, and I was still not sure. Netaji had a broad full face and even if I eat a lot, I will not be able to get that look.
Modern tech would have nudged me towards prosthetics but I remembered an experiment that Soumitra Chatterjee did during Atanka. There were no prosthetics at that time and he simply fit an extra gum to get that look. I tried it out and suddenly everything changed.

It was a process. With the gait, the body language, everything had to be exactly like Netaji. Because I realised Srijit did not want me to act like Subhash Bose, he wanted to show me as a newsreel. A documentation. I had no room for creativity. I had to do a copy-paste job. Even now, when I walk, I realise I put my arms behind me sometimes like Netaji. It has become a subconscious thing.
How did the audience respond to the process?
It was a risk and an experiment that worked. When the film released, people did not come to watch the film, but to see how could we have pulled it off. Srijiter eto sahosh Prosenjit ke diye Netaji Subhash Bose koracche? But I know, at a point in the theatres, people said they did not want to see Gumnaami; they wanted to see more of Netaji. It was the same when Autograph released. People came to the theatres to see what this new director was trying to do with Prosenjit Chatterjee. Trying to do Nayak? Such audacity?!
Srijit’s reasoning, his issue was different. I am not going for any controversy — my job is to deliver as per the director’s requirement. My point is very simple: If any actor in the world got a chance to play any of the characters - Hitler, Lenin, Rabindranath, Vivekananda, Gandhiji, will he not take up the challenge?
While we are all more or less familiar with Netaji - his appearance, his gait, his voice, there is a lot of mystery and intrigue about Gumnaami Baba. Which was a bigger challenge for you to portray as an artiste?
Something wonderful happened to me twice. When I was doing Dosor, Rituparno Ghosh called me and said, “Throughout the film, people should really dislike you. You are a married man, sleeping with another woman, which the wife finds out after your death. But after a point, I want the audience to tell the wife that enough is enough. Stop now. Let him be.
I received the same kind of instruction from Srijit. He told me, Gumnaami Baba is a confusion, an enigma. Just as you have to be convincing as Subhash, as Gumnaami Baba, you have to be like him, but not entirely. So that there is some doubt in the audience’s mind. So, I worked on the dubbing and the makeup. My voice as Gumnaami Baba will remind you of Subhash. But he is an older man and so he will sound different, even though his mannerisms would be similar. We worked for hours on just the dubbing to get it right. Also, while shooting, with my prosthetics and makeup, when I entered the room and met some very senior people who came to see Gumnaami, they got up the moment I entered. I told Srijit, we have got the right pitch! That visual presence has worked. We worked on a lot of these nuances so that the character was clearly noted.
What, other getting the look of Netaji and that timbre of Gumnaami Baba’s voice, gave the most creative satisfaction?
What I liked about the script was that in the end everybody is in tears. There was an emotional question from the director, not a statement to all Indians. Here is our greatest hero, and what do we answer to him? As an actor I understood my director’s mind. He is not playing with Netaji the hero, but with emotions.

My job as an actor was to support his vision and evoke those emotions and connect with the audience. What happens when someone in the family goes missing? What do you feel when a loved one suddenly disappears and people all around you are getting into all kinds of speculations and rumours mongering? What is that you feel when you have only questions about a loved one? I am a fan of Subhash Bose, but Srijit apart from a director, is in love with Subhash Bose. He didn’t want to give a statement but raised some questions. And as an actor, I learnt a few things in depth. And I sincerely believe, there was a time when he perhaps should have been back. Now I don’t know. But looking back I feel it was a huge miss. We should have had him as our leader.
How did your dynamics with Srijit evolve during the making of this film?
Let me be clear, I would not have said yes to a director, who while seated at the monitor, would not tell me: Kissu hocche na. I wanted to have a director who will say it is NOT happening. For me the frame was important. We always had faith in each other. And I knew that he will not let go till he had pushed me to that point where we are at least 70 per cent close to the ideal. I am a petite man too. And I trusted him enough to push the envelope till we got it right.
How would you describe the Gumnaami experience in a line?
It is history. I am honoured and grateful to have been a part of that history.