31 October 2023, Mumbai: Actor Sayani Gupta is gearing up for her Bengali feature film debut in Kaushik Ganguly’s social satire “Asukh Bishukh.” “I always wanted to work with Kaushik Ganguly,” Gupta unveils, adding, “I love his storytelling, and I loved reading this script. I have a belief that when it’s bound to happen, it just happens.”
Yet, entering Bengali cinema posed challenges for the actor. She elaborates, explaining…“I actually was quite nervous in the beginning, even though I speak Bangla all the time as it is my mother tongue. I hadn’t acted in Bangla in many years, I had only done theatre several years ago. I was wondering how it would be, but it was pretty much the same, so that was interesting. It’s a great exercise for an actor to be able to do that.”
She stresses the actor’s need to adapt to various languages, emphasizing that…“A lot of people tell me that when I speak English and Hindi, I speak them as my language. As an actor, you have to see how comfortable you are with that particular language. That comes handy as an actor. I quite enjoyed it and would love to do more Bangla films.”
In Comparing Regional and Hindi Film Industries
Gupta highlights significant disparities. “Operationally, the regional and Hindi film industries are quite different,” the 38-year-old states, adding, “The running of sets, food, and how people are, everything is different. The budget of the films is very distinct, as most regional films have smaller budgets. And, in Calcutta, the shoots happen very quickly as compared to Bombay.” A prominent distinction she aspires to witness changing in the Bengali film industry is the adoption of sync sound. “One thing that I really wish should change is that they don’t do sync sound in Calcutta, and it’s all dubbed. It is not something that most actors today prefer, and they want sync sound instead.”
Revealing Her Future Aspirations
Gupta adds, “I want to do parts that have flesh and meat in it. I would love to do a film or series where I drive it, I am the protagonist, and people are following my journey.” “I thankfully manage to do different parts because I get bored as a person. Looking forward to doing a lot more comedy, action, and a dance film. I don’t have any reservations regarding the medium; I just want good work that brings out my creative juices,” she ends.
By Vaishnavi Rastogi