'Better to start with 3 flops than get everything served on a platter': Saswata Chatterjee

UNLIKE most celebrities, actor Saswata Chatterjee is rarely seen glued to a mobile screen, whether on set or during shoots.

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He even prefers cash transactions, admitting he isn’t too quick with phone-based payments. Yet in an age driven by digitisation, he continues to bag major projects, be it in Bengal, Mumbai or South.

At first glance, Saswata comes across as someone always ready with a joke, but his seriousness surfaces when he talks about not giving his daughter, Hiya, any shortcuts in the film industry.

The 'Kalki 2898 AD' actor believes it's better to begin with three flops than to have success handed over effortlessly. Saswata now steps into the quirky universe of Eken Babu in the new Bengali film 'The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika', where he plays a master of disguise.

He's also shooting alongside Ajay Devgn in 'Ranger' and a Telugu film with 'Daaku Maharaaj' Nandamuri Balakrishna.

Amid his whirlwind schedule, we caught up with the actor in Kolkata on a sultry afternoon. Excerpts from the conversation:

You're stepping into the world of 'The Eken' as Belal Mallik and playing 11 different characters!

Yes. Actually, every time something new happens, Belal takes on a different look. Say, someone witnesses one incident and sees a face and when the next incident happens, it's a different face. That creates confusion. Honestly, getting to play so many characters in a single film is rare. I remember watching 'Naya Din Nai Raat' as a kid, where Sanjeev Kumar played nine roles. Kamal Haasan also played 10 roles in 'Dasavatharam'.