The October evening carries a familiar promise in Calcutta. Festive lights spill across the streets, pandals rise at every turn, and roads once meant for traffic give way to bamboo structures, dazzling illuminations and the slow-moving crowds of Puja. There is a mild chill in the air, just enough to make the evening feel softer as the city inches towards its favourite celebration. Inside Chaudhury & Company, over fish kobiraji, fish fry, and other Bengali delicacies, Tota Roy Choudhury and Srijit Mukherji settle into an adda that feels as much a part of the season as the lights outside. Dressed in dhuti-panjabi, the actor and filmmaker move between friendship, cinema, literary legacies and the courage to swim against the tide with their latest collaboration, Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra, releasing today in theatres.
A bond that began with Feluda
Recalling their introduction at the premiere of Tintorettor Jishu in 2008, Tota says, “He walked up to me and said that if he ever made a Feluda film, he would cast me as Feluda.” Tota was taken aback by the confidence of a filmmaker he barely knew. “I didn’t even know him, but he had that confidence that, yes, it’s a matter of time that I’ll make my film, I’ll be big, and I will finally make Feluda and I will cast Tota. That was the whole aura of Srijit.”
The promise remained a recurring thread in their interactions. Eventually, Srijit offered Tota a reason to stay in Calcutta when the actor was considering moving to Mumbai in search of work. An audition and a subsequent confirmation changed his plans. For Srijit, Tota’s sharp features, physical fitness and comfort with action made him an obvious choice for Feluda.
The transformation into Sarat Chandra
Tota had never imagined himself playing Sarat Chandra, an author whom he has looked up to for decades. Despite understanding the writer’s significance, he struggled to picture himself in the role. Srijit, however, saw the potential for a transformation. "I never thought of myself in that role. But I have confidence in his vision. He can see things even before I can imagine them.” The preparation went beyond costume and appearance. Srijit wanted Tota to change his posture, voice and mannerisms, shedding the sophistication associated with his screen persona. “I want you to sit in a certain way. I want to destroy your posture completely. I want you to change your voice completely. I want you to lose your sophistication completely. And I want you to time travel a hundred years back,” Tota recalls being told.
Rather than imitate the writer, Tota sought to capture his spirit. “If I distil it to one word, it would be a rebel. So I said I must get that spirit of rebellion in me. Whatever I do in the film, that would be my primary emotion. From there, I will build upon everything that I do in the film.”
The transformation involved losing weight, stopping his regular exercise routine and altering his posture. He also worked on his voice’s texture and modulation, studying biographies and accounts from Sarat Chandra’s family to understand a man for whom no video recordings existed.
Srijit’s meticulous approach extended to the film’s technically demanding sequences. One involves a surreal confrontation between Sarat Chandra and Rabindranath Tagore, requiring carefully choreographed camera movements and precisely positioned curtains to bring the encounter to life. Srijit’s faith in Tota stems from the actor’s ability to inhabit contrasting personalities. “He’s a very malleable actor.”
Where Feluda demanded physical discipline and an upright bearing, Sarat Chandra required a different body language, a grainier voice and movements reflecting another era. Srijit wanted Tota to travel back in time and capture the world associated with the writer’s life.
The collaboration also recalls the influence of filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh, who recognised possibilities in performers that others might overlook. Tota acknowledges how directors such as Rituparno and Srijit have pushed him towards roles he might otherwise have considered beyond his reach. With Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra, that trust becomes the foundation of an artistic experiment. For Srijit, Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra deliberately swims against contemporary commercial trends. He is wary of the growing emphasis on larger-than-life action sequences, exaggerated introductions and spectacle borrowed from other industries. However, his idea of cinematic grandeur is rooted in Bengal’s literary heritage. “It doesn’t get more larger than life for me when it comes to watching Sarat Chandra talk.”
A point to prove
Releasing Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra during Durga Puja brings both opportunity and competition. According to Srijit, the festive season can generate 30 to 40 per cent more revenue than a regular release period, but films must also compete for screens and audience attention. “Couldn’t have been a better time,” he says, despite anticipating fewer shows amid the crowded release calendar. While every filmmaker would prefer less competition, Srijit believes the film belongs in the season because it offers something different.
The release is also a statement of faith in Bengali literature and its contemporary relevance. In between the last munches on fish fry, Srijit said, “Dylan once wrote, ‘I'll know my song well before I start singing.’ I’m simply saying that, given the milieu, the trend and the market’s response, Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra is a film that proudly and defiantly swims against the tide.” As the conversation winds down over Bengali delicacies, the two return to their shared creative ambitions. Tota would like to work with Srijit on a medical thriller next, while the director believes the actor should "never be in a Feluda film unless cast as Feluda". With Emperor Vs Sarat Chandra, they aim to remind audiences that spectacle need not always come with explosions, and that Bengal’s cultural inheritance can still make compelling cinema. As Calcutta prepares for Durga Puja, the two are betting on the enduring power of a story rooted in its own soil.
Outfits: Roy Abhisek
Make-up: Prosenjit Banerjee