Abishek Banerjee | Bollywood actor Abhishek Banerjee talks about his experience working in Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon with Bhediya dgtl

Q: Are you in Mumbai now?

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Abishek: no no I am currently shooting for a movie in Jaisalmer.

Q: Your dialogues in the ‘Bheriya’ trailer have gone viral.

Abishek: (Laughs) It feels good. When the word “viral” is associated with the action, an expectation is created. It’s like passing that good test. If the exam is good, there is excitement in the mind as to how many marks I will get. I can’t wait to see how many points this movie will get after its release.

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Q: I worked as a casting director for Varun Dhawan’s “Kalank”. This time he acted in front of this Varun. Do you remember the first conversation with him?

Abishek: Hearing your question brought back many old memories. The filming of ‘Kalank’ has started. Big production houses like ‘Dharma’. So many stars. We are outside boys. I thought once, go see what’s going on there! Then, the shooting of the song ‘Baki Sab First Class’ continued. I first saw Varun from afar. dance But nothing happened.

Q: Cut to the set of ‘Bheriya’…।

Abishek: After hearing that Varun Dhawan is in the movie, I told the director (Amar Kaushik), it’s a movie with a big “star”! But this idea was shattered after meeting Varun for the first time. Let me say one more thing. We both have the same rashi. Even, our wives have the same zodiac sign. There were a lot of laughs about it during filming. Seeing Varun on the ground, it is hard to understand that he is the first star of Bollywood. Seeing the simplicity hidden in him, I realized that to become a star, you first have to be a good person. I have developed a good friendship with him now.

Q: Do you remember any events?

Abishek: Many examples can be given. But I would like to selectively share an experience with Anandabazar Online readers. We were filming in Arunachal Pradesh. A spot boy on set suddenly threw hot tea at Varun! He is afraid. Apologize again and again. Varun is completely nonchalant. He just said, “Maybe. Come on, let’s move on to the next move.”

Q: Varun recently stated that he suffers from “vestibular hypofunction”. Did you have a discussion with him after learning about the case?

Abishek: He also told me about it during the filming of the song for the film. After that I found out that now the problem is not as bad as before. Varun has recovered a lot.

Question: You are a boy from Kharagpur. He was stuck in Mumbai during the lockdown. After that came to Kolkata?

Abishek: I went to Kharagpur in December this year. Mumbai again after spending a few days with parents. In February this year, my parents stayed with me for two months in Mumbai. In fact, there is no house in Kolkata. So going to Bengal means Kharagpur.

Q: If you set foot in Kharagpur now, surely there will be a crowd to see “Hathora Tyagi”?

Abishek: (Big laugh) It happens little by little. Father called the whole neighborhood home. The meetings, the selfies continue. I am again very ashamed of them. Because I grew up there. Father once said he would throw a house party. I got out of it with a lot of difficulty (laughs).

Question: You have many memories of Durga Puja in Bengal.

Abishek: This year, I took the initiative to organize the Durga Puja festival in our district of Kharagpur. Father wanted a lot. But this time, I couldn’t stay under the pressure of work. I want to do puja in Kolkata next year if I have time.

Q: Have you thought about working in a Bengali film one day? Any new suggestions?

Abishek: I couldn’t make the film ‘Abar Bar Kuri Pari’ because of the confinement. But such a good Calcutta character has not come to me yet. I won’t make a Bengali movie if I don’t have a good character. Because, even in Bollywood, I agreed to work after understanding the character. I am son of Bengal. So if you don’t do a good job in Bengal, there is no advantage. One last thing, if I want to work in Bengali, I also have to work on my Bengali accent. There are many pure Bengali words, which I cannot pronounce correctly.

Question: You have a good relationship with Srijit Mukherjee. Any suggestions from him?

Abishek: I won’t lie. Srijitada offered me a project in Hindi. Suman Mukherjee also offered a movie. But I couldn’t do both tasks due to date issues.

Q: Well, a boy from Kharagpur has acted in Bollywood movies like ‘Bala’ and ‘Bheriya’.. ‘Patallok’, ‘Mirzapur’ web series. And Tolipara is not worried about him. You don’t feel bad?

Abishek: (Stay silent for a moment) I don’t know the exact reason. It may not be time yet. To broach the subject, I say that sometimes a disappointment really works in the mind. I myself am a casting director. Our job is to create a script with a good actor in mind. Then I can use this actor. If a Bengali film is made in this way, the film can also be dubbed into Hindi. Then a bigger market will open up.

Q: You also worked on a Telugu web series for Netflix.

Abishek: So think once! If they can think of me in a series like ‘Rana Naidu’ then why can’t Bengal think. You have a lot of offers from the Tamil industry. Talks are ongoing. What did I do wrong in the case of Bengal, I don’t understand!

Q: Last Bengali movie seen?

Abishek: Hey! you have to think (After reflection) I saw ‘Nobelchor’ by Sumandar (Ghosh). Mithunda loved him very much. One more thing – all the pictures my friends ask me to look at, there are no Bengali pictures! Sadly, once upon a time there was a good Bengali movie, the parents said. Don’t say that now.

Question: Is this an indirect warning for Bengali industry?

Abishek: Sure! It’s a wake-up alarm. Discussion of Bengali films at the national level has diminished. That day, I saw less Bengali movies in ‘Ifi’ list. But at one time, there was a Bengali winner on the national award scene. Casting will not be done by writing the story. Stories should be written with the right actors in mind. A bit of modernity should be brought into the image creation process. Reading my words, it may seem like I’m talking too much. But the Bengali community needs to wake up now. I believe that the greatest freedom in art is “criticism”. If no one discusses, criticizes, then you have to understand that there is a noise somewhere.