Antar Mahal, Rituparno Ghosh's new film, is set in a remote village in the backwaters of Bengal, ruled by a whimsical, tyrannical zamindar. In an attempt to score over a neighbouring rival and woo the ruling Britishers, Bhubaneshwar Chaudhury decides to mould the traditional Durga idol in the image of Queen Victoria, the Empress of India. He also imports a young, Hindustani boy to shape the image.

His craving for power and a heir draws him into a vortex of religious conspiracy, sexual jealousy and political corruption that threatens to rip apart the facade of his settled existence.

Set in the Bengal of 1878, Antar Mahal is a very Indian story about the lengths to which superstition and despair can drive a man and has been hyped as Ghosh's boldest film yet.

Premiered at the Locarno Film Festival earlier this year, this small-budget, Bengali film got Jackie Shroff a nomination in the Best Actor category and garnered rave reviews for Ghosh. AB Corp's second production this year, it opens this week and has raised plenty of curious queries. Jackie, Soha and Ghosh take time off from their rushed schedules to answer some of them.

The character I played in Eti Srikanto, Kamallata, was a very strong woman and at the same time very simple in her look and lifestyle with no craving for material comforts. She had seen a lot of tragedy in her life, was widely travelled and spiritually aware. The chhoti bahu in Antar Mahal is weaker, completely broken from inside. The look too is more opulent with lots of jewellery and colourful saris. Antar Mahal is a unique and interesting period film and involves a lot of performances from the various actors. I love the character.

I wouldn't call it bold. It touches upon issues that are very real. It's about how religion and politics influenced the goings-on in a household back in 1878 and used to further personal ambitions and desires. A lot of people are talking about the sex. I wish they'd watch the film first because there's no hint of obscenity in what we've done. It's been wonderfully shot.

Definitely, more so because this character is not as verbose as Kamallata. Eti Srikanto had a lot more dialogue. Roopa (Ganguly), my co-star in the film and a wonderful actor, was a big help too. We had quite a few scenes together and she worked on the look, lines and some of the scenes with me. I was pretty nervous initially working with such an accomplished cast and crew but they never made me feel like a newcomer.

Jackie's very warm and caring. He can really make you laugh. The confidence I got as a performer came from my director and co-actors who urged me by saying I was doing a good job. They gave me the physical and mental space to get into the role.

Not at the moment though I would like to work with good directors. For the moment I'm concentrating on Rang De Basanti with Aamir and I have a Shaadi No. 1 coming up this Diwali.

As soon as Rituparno Ghosh finished his narration I told him I had to do this film. The character fascinated me. He is a 19th century, small-time zamindar who has ambitions of gaining power through recognition by the ruling Britishers. His obsessive desire for a son who can carry the dynasty forward, prompts him to take on a much-younger second wife after 10 years of marriage to the first. Bhubaneshwar Chaudhury is a very complex human being with a host of problems that make him alternatively good, bad, ugly and very real. Antar Mahal is a story set in the inner chamber of his home that in a way is a metaphor for the the turmoil inside him, brought about by all that he wants from life.

I can't pinpoint any one scene in particular. I'd say the whole film was challenging because for the first time I was working in a film without knowing the language.

I didn't go to Locarno but I've heard that people there loved the film. Now Antar Mahal will be screened at the London Film Festival on October 30 and November 3. It has also been selected for the Indian Panorama and that is a high for the entire team. With AB Corp doing the publicity, I'm confident they'll take the film places. I'm certainly hoping that though in Bengali a lot of people will see it. That would make the effort worthwhile.

It's been a long time since Parinda, Kaash and Gardish. Did you expect a small-budget, Bengali film like Antar Mahal to win you international acclaim for your show of histrionics?

I expect nothing, neither from my relationships nor from my films. I'm basically a director's actor and I'm proud of every role I've done from the father of three teenagers in Yaadein and the terrorist in Mission Kashmir to the poet-convict in 3 Deewarein and now this zamindar in Antar Mahal.

Soha's an amazing girl. She may be very young but as an actor she's very mature. I think we complemented each other and our roles very well. Rituparno Ghosh handled the scenes beautifully. There's no hint of vulgarity...

Well, I had not seen any of his films but I was familiar with Bariwali and Chokher Bali and had heard a lot of good things about him as a director.

You'd played Chunnilal earlier in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas that was an adaptation of another Bengali writer, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's work. Now you've done Antar Mahal with Rituparno. How would you compare the two characters and directors?

Devdas was not a Bengali film, we only spoke a few lines in Bengali. Antar Mahal is very much a Bangla film and therein lies the first difference. As far as characterization goes, Chunnilal was a very different person from Bhubaneshwar Chaudhury. He was a debauched, gregarious ayaash who liked having a drink in his hand and watching girls dance while trying to find a solution to his friend's problems and woes. Except for a couple of scenes there wasn't much sensitivity in the role. It didn't even end satisfactorily. Chunnilal just walks away leaving Devdas to his fate. Antar Mahal in comparison is a more full-bodied role and consequently more difficult to bring to life. As far as the two directors go, each has his own style, fundas and knows what he's doing. Donon apne aap mein sahi hai bidu. Sanjay was into grandeur and pomp during Devdas. Rituparno was into feel and the finer nuances of character. He is a very sensitive director. Sanjay is very sensitive too but unfortunately, as I explained, I didn't get a chance to go to the end with him.

Bengali cinema is sensitive, sensual, with a lot of depth. We've got some of our best actresses like Raakheeji, Moushumi Chatterjee, Aparna Sen and more recently Rani Mukerji from Bengali cinema. It's also thrown up some pretty amazing directors like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and now Rituparno Ghosh. I'm planning another film with him. This one might be produced by me and could be in Bengali again.

There's this really interesting film called Divorce about a young boy who seeks divorce from his parents. I play a lawyer in this rather intense film. Then there's Poonam, Sinha's debut production, Mera Dil Leke Dekko which is a laugh riot. I've never done such heavy comedy before. In Kyon ki I play the doctor in a mad house and in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavyya that I've just wrapped up, I'm this very focused person called Jyotivardhan. It's a rocking role and he's the strongest character I've ever played.

Dahan was bold too and so is Antar Mahal. Since my films revolve around relationships it's said that they are devoid of social concern. That's one accusation you won't hear about this film. Antar Mahal is not a sensationally bold film but through its depiction of Indian history it reflects the true spirit of courage. It talks about the pressures of gender, religion and and colonial forces that spark of rebellions...big and small.

It's based on a short story by Tara Shankar Banerjee though I've recast the story completely. Yes, I'd done a lot of research for Chokher Bali and had dug out a lot of useful social material that I thought was going waste because Chokher Bali only focussed on the plight of widows. That's how the idea of Antar Mahal came up.

The fact that it dealt with art, art at two levels. It's a story that will fascinate any artist. The Durga puja angle was another attraction. If you notice Durga puja has played a important role in my films whether it was Hirer Angti or Utsav. Antar Mahal is also a story that lends itself to different layers of interpretation.

There was a Bengali film, Protima with Sumitra Mukherjee that revolved around a sculptor being brought into a zamindar household to mould the image of Durga.

The film was orginally planned in Hindi with Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala and Kareena Kapoor. When you decided to make it in Bengali how did you think of Jackie for the role of the zamindar even though he's never experimented with regional cinema and doesn't even know the langauge?

I took Jackie because I knew I could get a performance from him. As far as the language was concerned, he had no problems with his voice being dubbed. A non-Bengali attempting to speak the langauge, despite his best attempts, cannot rid himself of his accent and that draws away from the performance.

Everyone is talking about Roopa's seduction scene in the film. Apparently when Manisha was being considered for the role it was to be a nude scene but Roopa was not willing to expose more than necessary.

There was no nude scene. Such a scene is impossible under the Indian censorship law. Manisha too was smarting from the controversy over Ek Chhoti Si Love Story and uncomfortable about doing scenes that demanded exposure. The scene you mention is erotic but treated with a lot of black humour. In fact, the sexual content of the film is shaded with pain and black humour. When you see it you'll realise that Antar Mahal is a “sexy” film without any skin.

Did Soha's entry into the project necessitate any changes in characterisation given the fact that she's a less experienced actress as compared to Kareena?

Anil, Manisha and Kareena were in my mind only when I was thinking of making a film on Tara Shankar's story. By the time I started writing the script Soha was already in the picture so there was no need to make any changes whatsoever.

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