Tota plays mystical character in Vidya Balan's 'Kahaani 2'

Kolkata: Tota Roy Chowdhury, last seen in filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh's short film "Ahalya", describes their upcoming collaboration "Kahaani 2", as a "hard-hitting, dark" film where he plays a mystical character.   The actor, who won accolades for his role in Aishwarya Rai-starrer "Chokher Bali", has completed extensive shooting for "Kahaani 2" in north Bengal.   "There is a certain mysticism in my character in the film," Tota told PTI.   The actor, however, refused to reveal more citing contractual obligation.   "All I can say is that it is a beautiful, sweet character and Sujoy's delineation of his characters reminds one of Rituparno Ghosh, for the sensitive touch. And his way of detailing art work also reminds me of Rituparno Ghosh," he said.   The present-day Bollywood directors like Sujoy don't visualise a character as a big and small one; they develop it in terms of how it fits in with the narrative, Tota said.   Tota revealed that his performance in Ahalya had not opened the gate for him to act in "Kahaani 2". He had to go through the usual process of undergoing audition after being sounded by Sujoy.   "In Mumbai you have to get your role by giving audition. It is a must for every big, medium and small actor. There is aN inherent democracy in that system."   On the much-speculated sequel to "Ahalya", Tota said he was positive about bagging a role in the short film.   "Sujoy himself had publicly stated so in an interview and though he had not officially contacted me, he said the film would repeat the cast of Soumitra Chatterjee, Radhika Apte and the 'other person'. And we all know who the 'other person' he is talking about," Tota said.   He said that "Ahalya" had surpassed all projections about viewership. "While we had initially projected a three- lakh viewership, in reality it was 20 lakh, mostly on Youtube."   Currently the actor is busy shooting for Bengali TV serial "Taranath Tantrik", based on a story on occultism by Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay. "As I wear the saffron 'angobastro' I fall into a trance. I become a tantrik who is endowed with supernatural power to fight against evil," he said.   Tota has a plan to bring "Taranath Tantrik" on the big screen by his home production in 2017.