Sohini now has a starry air about her: Abir Chatterjee

They have awed Byomkesh fans by playing the legendary Bengali sleuth and his wife, Satyabati, in two past big-screen outings. And now, Abir Chatterjee and Sohini Sarkar are playing the iconic characters again, albeit with a catch. In Debaloy Bhattacharya’s Bidaay Byomkesh, the Satyanweshi is too old to handle the pressures of crime fighting and his loving wife is no more! “Is it the end of the saga of Byomkesh or is it a new beginning? That’s what this film will make you think.It’s a journey of the human being in Byomkesh Bakshi, as he struggles to find himself,” shared Abir, who plays the aged Byomkesh as well as his grandson, Satyaki, in the film. On the other hand, Sohini plays Satyabati and Satyaki’s girlfriend, Tunna, in the film.
The duo, who are also good friends, are literally like Tom and Jerry off the screen. Sohini, who kept calling Abir when he was late for the Calcutta Times shoot, told us between calls, “During the film’s shoot, Abirda used to make me wait for four hours, as his transformation into the old Byomkesh used to take that long. And now he’s making me wait again. This is not done!”

On reaching half an hour late, Abir kept apologising. “I thought we were doing the ethnic wear shoot first and you’d take time getting ready, so I came in late. It was a miscalculation,” he said, adding with a wink, “You see, Sohini is no longer that simple girl from a theatre background. She now has a starry air about her. She’s into branded clothes and accessories big time and even her lunch box is ordered in! How can I make a star like her wait, right?” A furious Sohini immediately snapped back, “Why on earth did I tell you that I had gone shopping? I’d have never done that had I known it would boomerang like this! I never want to be a superstar, nor am I one. I’m happy as an actor. Why are you always after my life?”
But there seemed to be no stopping Abir. “I have done five films each with Raima Sen and Paayel Sarkar, and now, with Bidaay Byomkesh, Sohini has joined that list. So, let me share a secret about her,” he said, getting a warning scowl from his costar. “For this film, I was given a separate makeup room, as it took time to get into the aged Byomkesh’s skin and it was a boring process. So, I asked Sohini to come over to my makeup room for adda. As it is, I used to be anxious about the makeup. And then, Sohini would add to it by throwing at me questions like, ‘God! What’s happening to your face? Look at your hair! Will this ever come off? Will you be able to perform like this?’ Finally, I simply asked her to stay out of my makeup room!”
Both Abir and Sohini kept showering praises on each other. Sohini complimented the actor by saying, ‘Abirda is that eternal ‘good boy’ every parent would want their daughter to get married to.’ To this, Abir jokingly said, ‘When Nandini (Abir’s wife) reads this article, I am sure she will… Well, certain things are better left unsaid.’ He added, ‘But Sohini, please tell me why have you become so obsessed with makeup and clothes of late? Are you in love?’ Sohini looked at him and replied with a wink, ‘You are the sleuth, so find it out’

Obviously, this was reason enough for Sohini to come back strongly. “You have only bad things to say about me. Wait, let me tell them how you are in real life. You see, Abirda is extremely kiptey and after playing detective on screen, he behaves like one off it too! For instance, if he sees me fiddling with my phone, he will give that wicked smirk and say, ‘Ki? Expecting someone’s message or call?’ Then if I keep quiet, he’ll say, ‘I know who has asked you to be quiet’ or ‘Hmm, had a fight with X, Y or Z, right?’. Even if I smile, he’ll say, ‘Sob’i jani, sob’i bujhi keno eto khushi….’ Now, what he understands and how he understands only Abirda knows,” she said with a sigh, adding, “But yes, I must say that he’s the most accommodating, caring and technically sound coactor I have worked with so far.”
Hearing this, Abir immediately put his palm on Sohini’s forehead. “Are you alright? You are praising me! I can’t believe my ears! Please tweet this,” he said with a smile. “Sohini is so inactive on social media! No one can make her write anything. What’s more, given her theatre background, she’s never happy with her first shot. She lives in a different zone and constantly tries to improvise. If one listens to her, then it would take a whole day to take one shot in 20 different ways,” the actor added.
Here, Sohini decided to change the subject. “Can we talk about the film now please? I’m sure those who love the Byomkesh-Satyabati chemistry will also love Satyaki and Tunna’s jodi in the film,” she said.
When we asked if there’s anything in this world that both the actors agreed on, Abir said, “Well, Debaloy is a crazy but talented guy with a great sense of dry humour.” To this, Sohini added, “Yes, one tends to get irritated with him on the sets, but at the end of the day, one is bound to fall in love with him.”