New Delhi: 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani' has indeed taken the theatres by storm. This Karan Johar directorial, starring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh not only showcases the magnanimity and beauty of a Dharma Set but also teaches us the importance of understanding different cultures and also accepting their norms. 'Rani' (played by Alia Bhatt) comes from a Bengali family with art and culture at her roots, yet her upbringing brings in a touch of modernity that shuns the baseless rules of society. In order to showcase a perfect Bengali family, Karan Johar got on board renowned Tollywood actors Churni Ganguly and Tota Roy Chowdhury to play Rani's parents.
In a chat with ABP Live over a video call, Churni Ganguly shared her experience working with Karan Johar and expressed her joy at receiving so much warmth and care at a Dharma Set.
She said, "It was wonderful. To start with, I can say that they are a lovely team and the whole production team, the directorial team and all others who were working with them, they made us feel at home. We never for a minute felt that we came from Bengal, or that we worked in some other industry. It felt like a fraternity and that it was just one big unit happening. So, that was a big takeaway. They were so warm and kind to us."
Ganguly also went on to speak about Karan Johar and shared the wonderful experience she had working with him.
"He is not a laid-back director at all," said Ganguly, "He doesn't call the shots just sitting on his director's chair and making us do the running around. He comes running to us, to tell us if he has suggestions and he even performs a part for you to show how he would like it to be done. So, he knows what he wants which makes it easy to deliver and most of all, he improvises a lot on the sets. At least with my scenes, there were a lot of improvisations and I enjoyed that very much."
"He was also open to suggestions right from the start because when I got on board, we shared numbers and he made sure that we got back to him with suggestions if we had any, or any queries. He was open to discussions all the time and whenever I connected with him, the response was prompt and immediate. So there were suggestions also given on my part and he took them, welcomed them, and incorporated all that into the role. That was wonderful," she further went on to say.
Churni, being really happy after working with Karan, also told that Karan Johar encourages his team a lot and that he is a great team leader.
"I have seen him work with his own directorial team and all the other departments- he was very good at handling that. Dharma is dharma because of a reason," she went on to say.
"After all, when you work, it's a collaboration. And, if that doesn't happen, if it's a one-way thing, then many things remain unresolved, which never happened. Right from the time I read my script and had my little inputs here and there, I got in touch with him and he understood why I said what and we got all that into the script," Churni Ganguly added.
Churni Ganguly has previously worked on a number of Tollywood films like 'Haami', 'Nirbashito' and many others. On being asked whether there are any differences between a Tollywood set and that of Bollwood, she said, "Yes, because the scale is too large. When I stand for instance in the set of 'Dhindora', or the one in the 'Randhava Paradise' I felt that we could make four or five Bengali films out of the cost of the set itself"
"It is very overpowering, but I also felt very proud to belong to the industry here in Bengal because despite having limited budgets, we still have good stories to tell, and we also tell a story in a good way. We reach our audiences, we also reach international audiences and get critical acclaim from all over. So, I feel it takes a lot of creative talent to actually work within a limited scope and still tell a good story," she further added.