I have a great baritone, but that doesn't make me a great actor: Sabyasachi

He has had two releases in the past two weeks and one more is coming up next. It could have been taxing for any actor, but Sabyasachi Chakrabarty doesn't belong to that tribe. “I didn't want to be an actor,“ he tells us, sipping a cup of chai on a rainy evening. As the conversation rolls, the screen Feluda who slips into the shoes of any character at his will, opens up on his first job as a technical hand and how life was never the same again.Excerpts:
Three releases in three weeks -Meghnadbodh Rohoshyo, Nabab and Jawker Dhan. Do you watch all your films?
I don't watch all of them. I end up watching my films only if I am invited to the special show and if I have time.Meghnadbodh Rohoshyo was supposed to be screened on July 14. I worked out my schedule and kept time.But the release got pushed back and my schedule went for a toss. My wife (Mithu) couldn't make it and my younger son (Arjun) had to go for the shoot of his serial. Ultimately , my elder son (Gaurav) and his would-be wife (Ridhima) went. One of my friends was free and I took him along. So, I watched Meghnadbodh Rohoshyo. I had rehearsals for a stage production -written by Kheyali (Dastidar) on atrocities against women -on the day of Nabab's premiere, but the group decided to push it back by a day , so I went for the screening. I skip most films because of other commitments -be it films, TV or stage. I am part of an amateur theatre group, where most are not professional actors. There are homemakers who come for rehearsals after the day's work. If they can find time, I am no big shot to cancel rehearsals for a premiere. Amateur theatre runs on passion, there is no monetary involvement. As far as films are concerned, I shoot, do the dubbing, promote the venture and if I am called to show my face at the premiere, I do it. But then, sitting through the film is entirely my choice. My commitment towards theatre is more than films. Also, I hate watching myself on screen. I think I am not that good. When I watch others, I feel I should have done better.
It's strange that someone with a huge body of work should think so...
Frankly , I didn't want to be an actor. I was a technician. After I joined theatre, I realised I could design sets, audio. So, I had a lot of backstage work. I was the technical director of a production house, which used to produce content for TV and I used to check the camera, tripod. In the first serial, Bangla Golpo Bichitra, there was no boom man on a certain day . So, I held the boom and thoroughly enjoyed it. After that, there was a short story series. Seven were made by Goutam Ghose and the last three by others. In one of them, I played the son of Soumitra Chatterjee and Tripti Mitra. I essayed the character of this nagging husband, who was forever after his wife. One of my lines went like: `Maa shokal theke bolchhe, bajar jaoni keno?' It was a role anyone could do. I was into bit roles on stage and here, I was asked to remove the curtain while shaving and utter my lines. The director said, `Tumi toh paka abhineta'. After that, a major project came my way . It was called Tero Parbon. During a sitting with Samaresh Majumdar, writer of Tero Parbon, I was outside, looking into things needed for the shoot. Jochhon Dastidar asked me if I had a suit. I said yes; I had made one for my sister's wedding. He asked me to come wearing shoes and I thought I could help the team with clothes. At night, he gave me the script and asked me to learn the lines by heart. I didn't know how to react. My first shot was at the Airport Hotel, as it was about a man returning home after 12 years and for 13 weeks.
How did your first film -Tapan Sinha's Antardhan -come about?
When I started out on TV , little did I know that there would be no looking back. It's strange because I hate to see myself on screen. Having a baritone doesn't make anyone a good actor. I got this baritone by doing theatre, by screaming, may be my voice box has increased in size -bigger the reed, lower the frequency and vice versa.The vegetable vendor in our neighbourhood has a great voice. He asks, `Haan maaji koto dibo?' so loudly that it irritates me no end. You put him on stage and he will faint in fright. Acting is very difficult and I feel I just pass. It's my good fortune that people have liked me and I could carry on. I don't consider myself an actor. I am someone who uses his head, not as a footballer, but someone who applies logic to his actions. I am an efficient tool for the director like a good pair of scissors or a hammer.
Once you are done with a film, do you care to find out about its boxoffice collection?
No, I am not interested. It is the concern of the exhibitor, producer and distributor. It can also concern the director as depending on how it fares, he is likely to get a job. I never wanted to be an actor, so it never bothered me if I would get another film or not. I have never asked for work; I have been offered roles. The only role I ever asked for was of Feluda. I approached Satyajit Ray and he turned me down. After Santosh Dutta's death, Soumitra Chatterjee did Golokdham Rohoshyo and Ghurghutiyar Ghotona for TV . I was keen on playing Feluda but Satyajit Ray said he wouldn't go ahead without Santosh Dutta. Ultimately , I hung on to Babuda (Sandip Ray) and said, `Din na, din na'. He finally gave me the role. It's good if a film does well, I am happy for the producer, director, co-actors, but it's never about me. I never feel, `Kirokom dilam!' after working in a film.
Are you back to doing one more Feluda?
I had decided to quit Feluda as the detective needs to be a little younger. Also, I thought I couldn't carry on without Bibhuda (Bhattacharya). I don't like myself on screen. On top of that, if I also look old, then that's a problem. That I am a senior citizen comes across when I sit on a chair, lift myself up or move around. I go by Satyajit Ray's illustrations and feel that I am not matching the character anymore. I have grown a pot belly and my skin has become loose. In fact, I had recommended Abir. He was pretty good as Feluda but was contract bound to play Byomkesh. Also, he wants to do it. Babuda felt that it might lead to an identity crisis. I also suggested the names of Anirban (Bhattacharya), Tota (Roychowdhury), Indraneil (Sengupta), Priyanshu (Chatterjee), Parambrata (Chatterjee). I said anyone younger than me could play Feluda. But he wanted Feluda to have the attitude no other character in the film could match. So, when Feluda asks an antagonist to sit tight, he will not have the nerves to move. When Babuda insisted, I asked if Feluda will stop if I didn't do the film. He said yes.
Amidst work, how do you find time to pursue your passion for wildlife photography?
When I feel tired and run down, I take a few days' off and go to the jungle to listen to the birds and insects. While doing so, I also click pictures of animals. I strongly feel that man cannot survive without trees. A man consumes three cylinders of oxygen a day .What costs crores during a lifetime, we are getting for free. But at the rate we are cutting down trees, taxes will soon be levied on oxygen. After getting involved with the forest department, I started taking nature seriously . I strongly feel that if tigers are not there, more people will cut trees. Also, there should be more wild animals. Government is forced to close down 80% of the forest region as we are not disciplined as tourists. People have left plastic bottles in the jungles and animals have died consuming them. Only a while back, I was asked if the censor board was right in `censoring' films. I said yes. Our adults are not `adults'.Being an adult is not about age, but about wisdom.

A CPM sympathiser, did you feel cornered after the change in Bengal's seat of power?
Those who tried to malign the present government were perhaps cornered. I have never done that. This is people's mandate and we must accept it.There's no reason to believe that only CPM supporters are good human beings and others are not. I believe in the communist ideology , but I am not a party cadre. I sympathise with them as I have seen many of them closely . I have seen their honesty and it comes from lineage. There's nothing like if you have a sedan, you are good and if you have a hatchback, you are bad. A man's status depends on his intellect, not his financial condition. I might have an ideological conflict with CM Mamata Banerjee, but I like many things about her. She lives in an ordinary house, wears ordinary clothes, doesn't believe in flaunting wealth, works for the betterment of the poor and has warned her party workers to be free of corruption -aren't these Left ideologies? She may speak in a certain way but that doesn't make her an inferior leader. If today, someone says my baritone is better than that of Naseeruddin Shah that will not make me better than him. I have had many interactions with Mamata Banerjee; she has spoken about her house, what she does at home. She has even tied me a rakhi and called me for many functions. I am a Left supporter but I have more friends in Trinamool Congress than in CPM.
Coming to your sons, Gaurav and Arjun, are you clued in to every bit of their lives?
Not always. At times, they come to me to ask if they have chosen the right project and I always say it's up to them to decide. It's important that they make mistakes and learn from them. So, sometimes they consult me, most of the time they don't. At times they say , `Shooting e berochhi'. When I ask, I get to know what their projects are about.I am not a doting father. My wife is more clued into my sons' lives. When they were young, I taught them my philosophy of life and the rest is their call.
With Gaurav's wedding coming up in December, you must be busy with a lot of things other than work...
I will get involved at the last minute.My wife is drawing up the guest list and taking care of the minute things like where some of the invitees will put up. Ridhima's parents are also very active. I have just booked the venue so far. My involvement is a little low.Closer to the ceremony , I will have more work.