Prosenjit Chatterjee continues to challenge and reinvent himself as an actor on screen. The actor, who has been a prolific presence for decades, is gearing up for the release of Devi Chowdhurani, the new film directed by Subhrajit Mitra. It is a historical drama, adapted from Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s works, where he plays the rebellious saint, Bhavani Pathak.

Ahead of the release of Devi Chowdhurani this Friday, the actor caught up for a quick chat with Hindustan Times about the film, working with Srabanti, and why it is always special for a film to release during Durga Pujo. (Excerpts, translated from Bengali).

‘These stories never get old’

“To get the chance to play a part like Bhavani Pathak is like a blessing,” Prosenjit begins when I ask him about the experience of doing the film. “I work with the idea that there are a lot of things that I am yet to do in my career. It is from a work by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, which is being adapted for the screen after so many years; it is amazing. These stories never get old. Bhavani Pathak is a historical character. It portrays a part of our history, during the British Raj. He was a saint, but he was also a fighter.”

The actor adds, “There were so many interesting hooks for the character to me. The scope and weight of the character in the film, how vastly learned he was, and also such a physically strong one, who even learnt martial arts and taught the villagers to defend themselves. I had played a saint before in Moner Manush, but that was more of a musical. Here, the saint is also a warrior. So when I got the chance to play a character like this, I instantly said yes because a character like this does not come quite often. I was really happy and proud to be part of a project like Devi Choudhurani.”

The film stars Srabanti Chatterjee in the titular role, along with Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Arjun Chakraborty, Darshana Banik, Bibriti Chatterjee, and Kinjal Nanda. Set in 1770 Bengal, the narrative follows the transformation of a simple village girl into the revolutionary leader Devi Chowdhurani under the mentorship of Bhawani Pathak, a Robin Hood-like figure who fought the British and distributed wealth among the poor.

“This is a Bengali film made in Bengali. Of course, it leans into the commercial elements, but whenever the word ‘commercial’ is used, we think of so many things, but this is not the case here,” says Prosenjit.

On working with Srabanti

The actor goes on to share that the on-screen equation of a mentor and disciple with Srabanti’s character is a continuation of how they bond even off-screen. “I have that advantage here, and I have seen her grow in front of my eyes,” Prosenjit says. “She has always been so kind and patient. She had played the role of my daughter in Mayar Bandhon [the film, which released in 1997, marked the screen debut of Srabanti], and later on she even played by love interest in Kaushik Ganguly’s Kaberi Antardhan.”

“The guru-shishya equation that our characters share in this film comes naturally to us, because she truly looks up to me like a mentor. I feel that truly shows on screen as well, and I am a person who, on set, I take care of them… as a person, not as a star (smiles). I truly believe that this off-screen equation reflects on screen. It was fantastic working with Srabanti, and I can assure that after 10 minutes into the film, the audience won’t even recognise that she is Srabanti. She is that good in it,” he adds.

How is a pujo release different from any other release during the year? The actor has had plenty of releases during Bengal’s biggest festival, so he knows a thing or two about the craze. He says, “Durga Puja is a festival for us. At one point in my career, two of my films would release during Pujo! Then there was a time when that became less, maybe because of the growth of multiplexes…. I think Autograph [his 2010 pujo release] played a very important role in changing that, along with Baishey Shrabon [released in 2011]… which brought in a new Bengali audience to theatres again. From then on, pujo became very important for Bengali films to release…”

‘People in Bengal want to watch Bengali films during Pujo’

“Pujo is an emotion altogether. People in Bengal want to watch Bengali films at that time. So many people have already fixed schedules on what to do during pujo, that we will eat at this place, watch this film and see these many pandals (smiles). So this time is rare, and it has always been very important. It is the time for celebration, and there is no bigger celebration for Bengalis,” he concludes.

Devi Chowdhurani is produced by Aparna Dasgupta and Aniruddha Dasgupta of ADited Motion Pictures, along with Soumyajit Majumdar from LOK Arts Collective. It will be released in theatres on September 26.