Vikram Chatterjee, Devlina Kumar talks about Bengali culture and ritual in backdrop of 'Raas' release

Q. Share something about your film and your character.

Vikram: Raas is a story of lost Bengalis. It is a story about a Bengali family. My character's name is Somnath who returns for a few days to his ancestral house after 18 years. He returns to his grandmother, his childhood friend and to his joint family on an occasion of Raas Purnima. Hence the name of the film.

Devlina: It is a story which takes the audience back to their childhood days. It is a festive story. My character's name is Rai. I could relate myself to Rai, because I myself am influenced by Rabindranath Tagore, the same as her who takes classes on the ground. She is very overactive, just like me. The story is about Bengali culture and the joint family.

Q. How can you relate to it?

Vikram: I grew up in a locality which in the 1990s was still a part of Kolkata but devoid of the city shine. So we had grounds to play and the entire locality was like a family to us. This is how I have grown up and my maternal house was a joint family so I had experienced being in a joint family. So, I could relate a lot with this story of Raas.

Devlina: I'm a true Bengali, although I didn't have a joint family but Bengali culture or ritual, be it Noboborsho or Mahalaya or Sindoor Khela or eating rice and chicken, everything is within me as a whole. I love speaking in Bengali and love Rabindra Sangeet the most. So I'm a heart and soul Bengali.

Q. Sparing time from your hectic schedule, how do you manage to give time to your family?

Vikram: I don't get much time, but I have now decided, and in fact this decision has much to do with Raas, that when I work, my complete focus will be on my work. But when I commit something to my personal life, my time will completely be dedicated to my family and friends.

Devlina: We can't calculate the exact time with family. But I'm a family oriented person and whatever I do or wherever I go, I must return to my home and that is my comfort zone. In all festivals, I try to be with my family and not take up any work, for which I had to miss a lot of opportunities. But I think it's worth it.

Q. There must be something new about Bengali culture which you came across for the first time in the film. If any, how did you adapt to it and was there any preparation that you had to take?

Vikram: I think we are the last generation who could actually relish the Bengali culture and have seen almost every ritual and festivals around us. So there isn't anything new to me, but for our next generation, this culture is losing its sense of pride.

Devlina: I'm kind of a grandma type of person. I know every Bengali culture and ritual. I love to perform prayers, although I haven't ever got a chance to decorate Jhulan before, as I'm from South Kolkata. But I did perform the ritual of Jhulan back at my house and I knew everything about it. But in this film I for the first time learnt how to decorate a Jhulan.

Q. This is the first film where you two are working together. How was your experience of shooting with each other, both on and off the set?

Vikram: I knew Devlina for a long time, as we did Dance Bangla Dance earlier. I already had confidence in Devlina as an actor but after seeing her portray Rai, I believe all the other directors and producers would like to cast her as a lead.

Devlina: I knew him from DBD (Dance Bangla Dance). But as a co-actor, he is very comfortable and adjusting and he is very reactive, which is really needed during a dialogue. Our equation is really good which is why we could do this.

Q. There are 32 people acting in this film, all of them in important roles. Did it bring out the essence of the joint family even off camera?

Vikram: We held the same essence off camera as well. There was a ground where we were shooting and hence whenever we got time, we went there to play cricket. This film had a very interesting thing that we had a separate makeup room for men and women instead of a separate one for each of us. So we didn't get any alone time and hence we got to bond with each other more easily.

Devlina: Yes absolutely. We had workshops with all the 32 of us. And apart from that when we were shooting, we didn't have a seperate room for each of us. So we used to meet and gossip in a common space and did almost everything like a joint family.

Q (to Vikram): How was your reunion with your director Tathagata Mukherjee, after Pariah? Has anything changed?

A. This is the third project that we are doing together. Tathagata is my friend and I have great confidence in him as a director. I blindly follow his instructions and we have a mutual respect for each other, for which I hope to work with him even more in the future.

Q (to Devlina): This is your first film with Tathagata Mukherjee, how was your experience?

Devlina: I think it was the best experience. I have always wanted a director, who would teach me. I'm a dance teacher and I believe that we should learn everything before doing it. He was a great help for me to face the camera.

Q. How do you think through your film would the Bengali community reminisce about the essence of their own roots?

Vikram: I just want to say that you should have a sense of pride for the people of your own. If we are not proud of ourselves, I think we would lose the essence of our Bengali culture. This sense of pride, whichever community has it, is far more united and celebrates themselves.

Devlina: The charm of togetherness. This film has a few old-school emotions which will make you wish that we could return to those old days, which we're almost about to forget in our daily lives.

(Photos by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)