'Game is meant to shock'

Tell us about Game...

The film ventures into the horror genre. My character, wheelchair-bound Peter Mukherjee, is terminally ill. He finds in society a complete disregard for human suffering – people have become selfish, they are willing to step out of line, and even commit crimes for self-interest. Peter cannot tolerate this. He wants to make people realise what they are doing; give them an opportunity to repent.

When his vigilantism begins, a CBI team, led by an upright officer (Sabyasachi Chakraborty), is called in to investigate. But it isn't easy to point a finger at Peter. The film is basically about Sabyasachi and his team closing in on the perpetrator. Meanwhile, Peter accuses Sabyasachi of not being entirely above board, saying he, too, has had reason to bend the rules. This troubles Sabyasachi's conscience. But Peter insists that those being snuffed out are unrepentant – no one has killed them, and they don't deserve to live. The film offers no titillation in terms of song and dance. But there are horrific visuals of people having to pay for their sins.

Is it a serial killer movie?

You don't know who's doing the killing. And it's not so much serial killing as serial dying. It's rather a strange form of revenge killing. Each person is given a chance to do the right thing and repent, but they all make the wrong choice. The characters are shown as being self-centred at every point.

Several stills from the movie appear rather gruesome. How gory is the film?

It's meant to shock. It's meant to be gory.

How was it working with young directors like Ajay Singh and Sudipto Ghatak?

Game is not an original script. It's a remake. And the directors – Ajay and Sudipto – aren't hiding that, they're not pretending that it's an original film. But they haven't scrimped in any way. All through production, they've never been tense and have never argued. They've respected everybody regardless of age or experience, and have been happy and cheerful all along.

I haven't seen the film, and won't be watching it, but the two deserve to be winners. They've taken a huge chance and that too with great confidence. All the way, they knew exactly what they were doing. Their demand from the make-up department was incredible. The make-up artist, Babai, who died recently, worked very hard to give these two young men the kind of effect they wanted.

And it's not like Ajay and Sudipto's futures depend on Game. They've already started their next project. And I'm not saying that because I'm in their next movie – I'm not.

Was it different on their sets?

These days most commercial Bengali movies are remakes of Telugu films. Directors tend to follow these frame by frame. They really have no contribution. But the directors of Game have been major contributors and must be commended for their flawless commitment. They didn't pinch pennies. They spent as much as they needed to on costumes, sets and so many other details. The guns for instance, appear as good as real ones. These things make an actor's job easier.

I've worked with the likes of Satyajit Ray, but in the commercial film world at least, I've never seen people with such an eye for detail. Ajay and Sudipto are not art filmmakers, but their attention to detail is as good as Ray's. And that is a great compliment to them.

How did you prepare for your role?

The directors gave me a CD of the film they were remaking. I ran it for about three-four minutes – by then I knew what the basic style was. I simply followed their description. Here was a terminally ill man who'd realised how precious life is. And he wanted to show this to others who did not respect life as much as they should.

How was it working with Sabyasachi Chakraborty?

You could say that it was more beneficial for him than for me, because I introduced him to the benefits of raw turmeric and Neco soap. He's always struggled with his skin, and after so many years somebody gave him a remedy which I believe he's still using. (Smiles) That aside, Sabyasachi is a great actor and we're both fond of wildlife. He's intelligent, takes his job seriously and is easy to work with.

Are you seeing a change in Tollywood films of late?

Well, these days the finished product has to have the slickness of a Bollywood film. That's not to say that in terms of content Tollywood is inferior to Bollywood – the latter is equally faulty. But then, that's another subject.

People are used to a certain gloss nowadays – and I hope Game has that. I haven't watched the movie or seen any posters yet so I can't quite comment.


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