New Delhi, April 25 (IANS): Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee has dedicated over three decades to the world of acting, yet he still feels the pressure to deliver.
Even after working in over 300 movies, the actor admits to feeling jittery with the release of a new film, as it feels like his first.
Prosenjit, who is lovingly called Bumba Da by his fans, began his journey as a child actor with Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Chotto Jigyasa'. His breakthrough came in 1987 with Sujit Guha’s 'Amar Sangi', after which the spotlight never left him.
Despite the challenges he has faced in cinema, he still loves every bit of it.
When asked about feeling pressure to deliver a hit film, considering his past successes, Prosenjit told IANS: "Yes. It is always pressure to do any kind of film, whether it is a hit or a critically acclaimed one. But for any kind of film, when it gets released, that's one pressure."
"I always believe any film getting released, even after the 348-349 films that I have done, it is like my first film getting released."
"So, I am always under pressure. People like us, who have been in the cinema industry for so long, cannot say that we are very particular... You can't say that, but I try to do the right things as much as possible,” added the actor.
Prosenjit asserted that while the pressure exists, "but to find out the right story or director, script, what I know my audiences are going to love it and it should somewhere be mentioned by the critics or the people who understand cinema… I try to cater to both."
He shared: "So, I spent 18 hours a day just searching, not working, just finding out what I should do and what I shouldn’t do."
Is he happy with his run in cinema, or would he do it any other way?
"The journey unfolds as it happens. Nobody can calculate in any profession," said the actor, who has worked in 'Chokher Bali', 'Shob Charitro Kalponik', 'Autograph', 'Moner Manush', and 'Jaatishwar', among many others.
He said: "First of all, what I believe is that you have to start loving the profession… I always believed, when I was a total hardcore, mainstream actor, which I am till today, you have to start loving the work you are doing and you have to start understanding the audience."
The 61-year-old star, who has produced TV shows such as 'Gaaner Oparey', among others, has seen the audience evolve.
"I have witnessed changes in the audience. In many families, the mother, daughter, and granddaughter are my fans. When they watched my films, the language of cinema and expression were different, and now for the younger generation, cinema has changed," he said.
The journey has been tough, but only in terms of catering to what his fans want to watch.
"For me, it has always been a tough journey, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it because I love my work and I love my audience. I always respect my audience. That is the main thing I have maintained over the years,” said the actor, whose film 'Shesh Pata' is streaming on Zee5 Global.
'Shesh Pata' is directed by Atanu Ghosh and also stars Gargi Roychowdhury, Vikram Chatterjee, and Rayati Bhattacharya.