Veteran filmmaker-actor couple Kaushik Ganguly and Churni Ganguly made their debut as an on-screen couple with young director Rohan Sen's Bengali film Subho Bijoya, which released on Dec 2. In a candid chat with India Blooms correspondent Souvik Ghosh at Lavanya Studio in Kolkata, Kaushik Ganguly and Churni Ganguly talk about their pairing, Subho Bijoya and more...

Q (to both): Tell us the backstory of getting cast as an on-screen pair for the first time?

CG: Rohan (Sen) had come to Kaushik (Ganguly) first with the script. He had asked Kaushik whether I would agree to feature opposite him. Later, Rohan had called me and asked me to read the script for once. Since Rohan was in a hurry, I agreed to do the film after hearing the story from him in a nutshell. I say 'yes' to him considering his young age and the manner he had approached me.

Image Credit: Avishek Mitra/IBNS

Q (to CG): Did Kaushik-da ever approach you to star opposite him?

CG: No, no. Unlike on small screens, Kaushik never cast me opposite him but others in films.

Q. (to KG): Was there any specific reason behind not pairing with Churni Ganguly on-screen?

KG: Not at all. Actually I had no appropriate character in my hand to cast her opposite me. Cinema has its own logic. I have always felt other actors like Saswata (Saswata Chatterjee) look better alongside Churni. Now someone else has felt me and Churni would look good together onscreen. Maybe I have become eligible to be paired with her (laughs).

Q (to KG): Will you now consider roping in Churni Ganguly in your opposite?

KG: I have enjoyed working with her contrary to my earlier belief that I would fail. I always wondered how I would act in front of a person with whom I have never acted in real life. But now I have no doubts.

Image Credit: Avishek Mitra/IBNS

Q (to both). Do you think the story of Subho Bijoya is apt for the time when people in Kolkata complain of brain drain?

CG: Brain drain has been happening for a long time. I would say it started in the 1970s. We never had leaders because the revolutionists in our generation started moving out. We lacked having role models. The film was needed way before. More than the brain drain, I think, Rohan thought of showing a family uniting under the same roof during Durga Puja.

Q (to both): It is also unique that the concept has come from a very young filmmaker!

KG: Definitely. It is a hope for us. I don't think joint families will ever be possible for obvious economic reasons. But a family can be brought together digitally, just like WhatsApp groups. People want to stay together. Technology is helping isolated family members to reunite. People's actions on social media and cravings for 'likes' and 'comments' show they want to stay united.

Q (to KG): Are you still staying away from social media?

KG: Yes. I can't give so much attention to social media. I come on the space to promote films. It is tiring for me to be on social media as my job can't be giving reactions to every incident. My merit and reactions, I believe, can't be a free service.

Image Credit: Avishek Mitra/IBNS

Q (to CG): How did the family debates and discussions change after Ujaan Ganguly's success with Lokkhi Chele?

CG: We used to talk mostly about Ujaan's thesis when he was studying at Oxford (University). Seldom, we used to talk about films. But post Lokkhi Chele, discussions on films, concerts have increased. So definitely there has been a change.

(Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)