Tejal Sinha
When we talk of actors; there are either ones with big names or who create an impact with their performance. Well, actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya is one of those who makes his performance speak more than anything else.
Though not characters that have had much screen space, his stints in Monsoon Wedding, Maqbool, Dev D., Jamtara, Aar ya Paar, Loop Lapeta, or Criminal Justice have made him known for his authentic portrayals. Today, we have with us this adept actor taking us through mastering his art, working with veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, and more.
In order to portray a character, it’s equally important to understand the mindset of a certain character that you’re going to play on-screen. One important factor for creating really good characterisation is for writers to try to get into their character’s mindset. Part of creating characters that the reader will connect with and feel emotional towards is to make them so believable that they seem entirely real. The more you truly understand your characters, the better your characterisation. It’s not just about knowing what their hair colour is or when and where they were born, but it’s how they are with other characters that the readers look for. Dibyendu couldn’t agree much, as he says, “Mindset of the character has a lot of processes through which one has to go through and understand the mindset of the character. I always feel that the knowledge and learnings that I’ve had through books are not something kind of a ghostly game. It is only you who transform into the character. The imagination of the character plays a major part. Every actor has his own process but at the end of the day you get the result when you properly identify, you have the genuineness and you uniquely take it up rather than copying someone else. If the audience is able to connect with your character then to an extent your admiration is good. I in fact love to connect with the mindset of the character. I have played different characters in the industry and try to catch the mindset of the character; first, I read the script, and then the character’s position, wants and motivation of the character, his objectives, when you bloom like a lotus that is when you bloom into your character.”
Dibyendu describes himself as a conventional being, but unconventional in work. Asked if he would call himself unconventional or a fierce baddie, and he says, “I have played different colours and types of characters. I’ve never played a cliched character. I am not a fierce baddie, but I’m sure I can play one. I will continue to play different characters and want even the directors to see me in different lights.”
Dibyendu made his debut into the filmy world in the Naseeruddin Shah-starrer Monsoon Wedding. Recalling working with the veteran actor, he shares, “Though I din’t have any direct scene with him but in one of the scenes, where he was a bit far even I was in that scene. He was also our teacher at the National school of Drama. Recently, I had worked with Anubhav Sinha which also had Naseer bhai and I got to work with him. He’s one of the greatest actors and theatre personalities. I don’t know who will the industry be held up to once this generation of actors is gone. The experience of working with him and getting a chance to work with him is a whole different thing. You get to talk about how actors used to work earlier, and all the productive talks. I love cinema, it is not just an entertainment medium; through this, you get to give a message because the audience is so overwhelmed after seeing the cinema. If we understand the chain reactions of cinema, then through cinema we can also show things that are morally and ethically right. Cinema has a huge responsibility of society. I love cinema as a medium because it brings larger-than-life and mesmerises the audience.”
On the work front, Dibyendu will next be seen in actor Sonu Sood’s upcoming film Fateh. But did you know, both of them share a really familial bond? He even reveals that actor Sonu Sood is his next-door neighbour, and their kids are childhood buddies. “Though Fateh is going to be the first film that we are going to work on together, it didn’t feel like that on the sets,” enthuses the Dev D actor. Dibyendu also has a film with director Anubhav Sinha, who is known for films like Thappad, Bheed, Article 15, and more. He’d always had a desire to work with the filmmaker which has finally come true. “He is known for his films, and like I said, ‘cinema has a lot more to say to the society, about the society and tell people about it.’ I always wanted to work with him. The project that I’m working with him on is a very big and amazing project which immediately hooked me. Though I don’t play a big character but working with him was something I wanted to do.”
He further stresses upon the heroism era that was once there in the cinema, is no more, and now it’s all about characters. “ Earlier the heroes were either ‘ a maa ka beta’ or ‘bhai ka devar’ who had to take revenge. Apart from this, they had these other strong characters. According to me, character artists have always been there. I don’t call them character artists but actors. The heroism era is gone, now everybody is a character artist. Everybody follows a character.” On a concluding note, he states that it is the audience, distributors and producers who know about which actor is a liability or an asset in the industry.
