09 July,2020 07:33 AM IST | Mumbai | Mohar Basu
Jisshu Sengupta
Jisshu Sengupta, the blue-eyed boy of the Bengali film industry, has actively made a shift to Bollywood. With two films ready for release - Shakuntala Devi with Vidya Balan and Sadak 2 helmed by Mahesh Bhatt - the actor claims this is the rebirth of his career. "Though I have been doing Hindi films since Shyam Benegal's Bose: The Forgotten Hero [2004], I knew I had to move cities after Manikarnika [2019]. Coming to Mumbai was never on my mind [until then]. Two years ago, I decided to come out of my comfort zone. I am a Lokhandwala lad now!"
Sengupta seems to be at ease with the daunting new phase of his life. "It never came across as a step down. Screen space doesn't determine your merit; performance does. People are familiar with my work in the Bengali films, especially the ones with Rituparno Ghosh," says the actor, adding that his co-star Vidya Balan makes it delightful. "I am a huge fan of Vidya, the actor, but she is an even better human being and colleague on set. She has the knack to break the ice and crack these witty one-liners that put you right at ease. While she has worked with Srijit Mukherji in Begum Jaan [2017], Vidya said she loved me in the original version, Rajkahini [2015]."
Though tight-lipped about the film that premieres on Amazon Prime Video on July 31, Sengupta reveals his decision to come on board. He says, "I loved the character of Shakuntala's husband Paritosh Banerji, and how beautifully he understood his wife. The director [Anu Menon] did a thorough job with the character. I learnt everything about Paritosh from the literature she provided me on him."
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But he credits Sadak 2 for helping him come on his own again. "There's something about Mahesh Bhatt that made me feel more myself than I have ever felt. After the death of my mentor-friend Ritu Da, I stopped working for eight months as a part of me had died with him. But when I was on set with Bhatt saab, I felt the actor in me came alive again."
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