Buddhadeb Dasgupta (1944-2021): His shots were like a choreographed scene, says Prosenjit Chatterjee

Buddhadeb Dasgupta

I was lucky to do two films with Buddhada - Swapner Din [2004] and Ami, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala [2007]. Unfortunately, they never got a proper commercial release in India. Ami, Yasin Ar Amar Madhubala was screened at Toronto Film Festival and Swapner Din won the Best Film [gong] at the National Awards. He wanted me to do Kaalpurush [2005], where I was to play Mithunda's [Chakraborty] son, but our dates didn't match. [I couldn't be part of] Uttara [2000] because I couldn't go bald and put on weight [at the time].

Parallel cinema has a [restricted] budget, but we never asked for remuneration as we wanted to work in such films. When I went to meet Buddhada for the narration of Swapner Din, the first thing he told me was, ‘Ami tomake ekta gamchar taka debo [I can pay you the price of a cotton towel].' I had to change my look to that of an ordinary boy and tone down my skin [colour]. He didn't think that a successful mainstream hero would go out of his way, put his heart and mind into the role. He was happy. Buddhada would tell people, ‘Prosenjit is a dedicated director's actor because he is always with the director - from the shoot to managing the sequences and coming up with solutions'.

Buddhada had a huge fan-following at international film festivals and his movies catered to that audience. Hence, all his movies had an international touch. The way he would set up his cameras, by putting one trolley on top of another, and choreograph their movements was different. He worked with the best cameramen and his lighting created magic. I remember we once shot with lanterns for a scene in a dhaba. [Despite] minimal light, it looked completely natural. If actors couldn't understand the frame, Buddhada would call for me and ask me to rehearse with the rest of the actors.

Every sequence that I have shot with Buddhada was challenging. In Swapner Din, there was a chase sequence where the police were firing at us. Buddhada wanted a real gun for the shot [licensed and brought from Kolkata]. It was a scary moment for me, but dada wanted it. I will never forget that scene in my life. We did rehearsals and workshops at his home before the shoot began. He would take just two to three shots in a day. The first shot had to be filmed at 4.30-5 am to coincide with the sunrise. He considered it the magic hour. So, we rehearsed for the scenes at 2.30 am. [Post] 6pm, it was pack-up unless there was a night scene. His shots were like one fully choreographed scene and if anything disrupted it - like a cow or person walking across the background - the scene would be shifted to the next day. Buddhada would not take another shot of the same scene that day.

Also read: National Award-winning filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta passes away