It's not every day that a Karan Johar movie revels in critical love apart from riding the box office, and it's not every day that people whistle, groove or get goosebumps when two men, gracefully and energetically, dance to 'Dola Re' against the backdrop of a 'Bhansali-esque' set in front of a gigantic idol of Goddess Durga. While a lot of love poured in for the story, the lead actors, and director Karan Johar himself, it was Tota Roy Choudhury who walked away with a major chunk of praise — as Alia's father and as Kathak dancer Chandan Chatterjee.
Speaking to ABPLive, Roy Choudhury said he never essayed such a role before and nobody had actually envisioned him in such a character. On the screen, Chandan Chatterjee was no caricaturish representation of a man who dances but a regular father in a culturally inclined Bengali household with an English professor wife (Churni Ganguly) and journalist daughter (Alia Bhatt). He would naturally practise his 'mudras' or even swing to the tunes of music, even if it was Punjabi music, as an artiste immersed in his art.
Here, he breaks down his journey and process to get into the skin of Chandan Chatterjee.
Q. Did you have to convince yourself to step into the shoes of Chandan Chatterjee?
A. I took a very detailed briefing from Karan sir. He told me about the character, the subtext of the script and then he said that 'Now I don't want you to emulate anybody or be influenced but try to build a character on your own'. The credit should go to Karan sir. He was guiding me at every step. I did not have any references, I had to build the character from scratch. I very sensibly took the help of my director and I told him 'You have to guide me at every step'. Because it is a very thin line between making it a caricature and being that character.
'Rigorous Kathak Training'
Speaking about his preparation for the role, he said: "The Kathak training was rigorous, it's a difficult art form and takes at least three to five years to learn the basics and I had just five months. So I knew that I had my task cut out and I immediately started practising in Kolkata with Paromita Maitra. After I finished my basic course, under the tutelage of our choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant, Nikkita Banawalikar taught me the steps. Kathak has a very distinct body language which I tried to imbibe in the character. I was also practising in between the schedules, which also helped me in characterising Chandan Chatterjee. And, I knew I had Karan sir there, so I had nothing to worry about.
Q. Did you expect this massive adulation and your character to be one of the most talked about performances?
A. I would use a cliche and say it's an out-of-the-body experience, I don't even believe it is happening to me. As if it's happening to somebody else and I am just a spectator. My life has changed. On Thursday (July 27th) I was somebody else and exactly 24 hours later on Friday evening (July 28th), I was somebody else. I was like what's happening? People are coming up to me, they are getting in touch with me. I am not used to this kind of adulation, I had a very gradual journey.
Q. People are comparing the performance of Ranveer and Yourself to Madhuri Dixit And Aishwarya. Some are even saying you both have outshined the women. What are your thoughts?
A. Madhuri and Aishwarya are one of the best dancers on the Indian screen ever. We can't do better. And Madhuri ji is a Kathak exponent, you can't do better. Actually, two guys dancing to Dola Re is something unique and people are reacting to that. It's the way we are presented by the director and the sequence was written in such a way that's the reason people are getting goosebumps.
Q. Were you ever apprehensive about how your character would look on screen, especially to a diverse audience? And, how did you land the role?
A. None whatsoever. I knew Karan Johar has his own distinct signature and he has been doing that for a long time. He has his own grammar and language, and I am a big fan and wanted to work with him for the longest.
I had to audition. Shanu Sharma, a renowned casting director, got in touch with me and asked me to audition immediately and I asked what was the hurry. She said, 'I would give you the details only when you audition', and after half an hour of auditioning I got a video call from her and she said 'Karan loved your work and you are on'.
Q. Are you afraid that you could now be getting offers only for similar roles or be typecast?
A. See typecasting happens everywhere, even in Hollywood you will see people asking what's your type. In today's time when the market is so crowded, they don't have the time to explore how many characters an actor can act in. So they cast someone because that person is ready and actors also have their kitchens to run and EMIs to pay, so a lot of them submit as well. But many like me will try to break that, because the reason I got into acting was to live many lives in one lifetime. That's the most interesting part about acting. The next time you see me on screen, it could be something diametrically different.
Q. What was it like to be on a Dharma film set?
A. With Karan sir, his sets are the happiest and the calmest. He is very very controlled and very chilled out. There's not one angry word or show of irritation. He loves his actors and he has great empathy for his caste and crew. I have been working with him on and off for nearly two years and have never seen him lose his cool. He loves being on sets and loves directing.
Q. Did you feel any drastic difference between the Bengali and the Hindi film industry in terms of functioning?
A. I won't say a drastic difference but because of the paucity of budget, everything is done at double speed. We don't get any respite. During the shoot of a Bengali film, we have to do a lot more with a lot less but in Hindi films or Karan's films we were very relaxed. Work automatically gets better because you are given that environment, that ecosystem. In Bengal, we are always rushed. But if the distribution is managed better, hopefully, we will have better budgets as well.
Q. At a time when actors older than you or your age are romancing young actresses, you have taken the role of playing Alia Bhatt's father. Did you think about this and do you aspire to play lead in a Hindi movie?
A. No, not today, maybe 10 years back I probably would have thought about it. But today, especially after the lockdown, when we got to watch a whole lot of films around the globe and other Indian films from other regions, the kind of work that has been done has changed, possibly irretrievably. It's not going to go back to its earlier self. Today I think I can take that risk and just be that character.
But now I just want to be the character, a dependable actor who has a very well-edged character and I feel I should also have adequate space and time. That is what I require. Just because I am playing the lead in my regional film, doesn't mean I have to be the lead in a Hindi film or web series. I am a huge Karan Johar fan, had he given me a smaller role, even then I would have taken it up because I wanted to observe his method and his process. I have learnt from all my directors. I am not a trained actor. I have learnt everything before the camera and from my directors. For me, it's important that I work with good directors.
Experience Working With Alia and Ranveer
Sharing his experience working with Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, he said Alia was a terrific actor who was born with an instinct and one has to be on their toes when working with her. Speaking about Ranveer, he said he worked very hard to essay the character of Rocky and many in the industry would not be able to pull off the character. He said the character of Rocky should be a case study and that Ranveer Singh did extensive work on the character — starting from his body, hair, walk, dialect and language, to bring Rocky to life on screen.
Talking about his future plans, Tota Roy Choudhury said: "A lot of people are bringing me a lot of scripts from Bengal and Mumbai. So a lot of people are discussing and showing me scripts. So in three months, good things can happen.