Rituparna Sengupta pauses for a moment when I ask her about Puratawn, her upcoming film with director Suman Ghosh. The actor is searching for the right word while describing a situation, and lights up as she gets it- internalizing. One of Bengal’s most prolific actors, Sengupta has managed to hold herself steady in both mainstream cinema and found critical acclaim in parallel films. In this exclusive interaction with HT, the actor opened up about Puratawn, the new Bengali film in which she plays a woman coming to terms with her own present. (Also read: Interview | Jeet says he is ‘lucky’ to work with Prosenjit Chatterjee for the first time in Khakee: The Bengal Chapter)
Puratawn will connect all generations
When asked what made her say yes to the film, the actor says, “Puratawn is a very special film for me in many ways. This film talks about a very deep relationship between a mother and a daughter, as well as other aspects of life which are important and I think it can connect to all generations in that way. It is not just about people who have become old, but also the current generation that is going through loss, dealing with their own relationships. How this generation is getting so much exposure.”
On dealing with relationships and its mess
The actor found herself reflecting on the many roles a woman has to be held accountable for, and that it never gets easy. Her character in Puratawn reflects that search. She adds, “My character is a very upright girl and she has been through a lot herself too. She is a very independent person, matured… she is not a teenager anymore, so she knows what works. She is in the corporate sector, and here she is trying to be a professional and also a perfect daughter, and a great wife. But it gets messy, but because at the end of the day she wants to be as perfect as possible but it is not as easy. At one point, she succumbs to a situation, and at the other she has the capacity to elevate herself. Puratawn is about internalizing these feelings, these relationships.”
Sengupta admits that for the film, she infused a lot of her own personal feelings and anxieties. How her profession demands so much from her, how she has to go with the flow as well. “Puratawn deals with the relationships we take for granted but there is so much to think and understand in that area. One just has to follow where life takes you, it has its own way. This is something I have realized with my own life too, life will move according to its own way, and you have to sort of come to terms and accept that. If you don’t, then you will go into depression,” she says.
‘Everyday it is like a battle’
“See me, I am in a very demanding profession and everyday it is like a battle. Everyday you have to prove yourself. You have to be there, to be present and not go into some la la land and think that whatever I have done will be there. No, it does not happen like that. So I am at it, and I feel like I have always regarded my relationships and given them the time.”
Puratawn also stars Sharmila Tagore and Indraneil Sengupta. The film releases in theatres on April 11.
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