Indraneil Sengupta: We need to reiterate that we are a secular state

My acting journey has been wonderful. I have worked with diverse film makers, including some of the big names in Hindi as well as Bangla film industry. I feel very lucky to have worked with Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Srijit Mukherjee, Sujoy Ghosh, Prakash Jha, and Vikram Bhatt. I have learnt so much and I am still learning.

My advice to aspiring actors is to keep working hard. Watch world cinema. Read a lot. Knowledge gives an edge to your personality. Listen carefully. Be attentive and sincere. Believe in yourself.

Just Another Love Story was definitely a very difficult role for me. I am no way homophobic but it took me some time to get comfortable playing a bisexual cinematographer who’s having a relation with his director. And he is married at the same time. I did a lot of reading and watched relevant films, Farewell My Concubine being one of them, suggested by Ghosh himself. Till date, I feel Just Another Love Story is my most powerful role and film.

Supreme Court has given a landmark decision and I am glad that the whole of India has embraced the decision wholeheartedly. There should be no binding on love. Consenting adults should be free to love whoever they love and this should have no gender restrictions.

I did Mulk for Anubhav Sinha. Also, I wanted to be a part of such a strong film. I feel it came out just at the right time when religious intolerance seems to be a serious concern and we need to reiterate that we are a secular state. I am very happy for the kind of success that has come Mulk’s way. It’s not a conventional Bollywood masala film; and yet,people have loved the film, which speaks highly of our audience too.

I started my journey with Gladrags Manhunt 1999. I feel such contests are great for showbiz aspirants to get noticed and to get a taste of the industry. They are a wonderful platform for people from smaller cities who at times have no idea about how to find an inroad into this competitive industry.

As an actor, both mediums are the same for me. I have to do the same thing at both places. But in terms of the luxury of giving enough time to prepare and ponder over scenes and try to extract the best out of every scene, films are always better for an actor. On television you are always running against time.

I feel anthology films work great when the stories are woven together beautifully by a common theme. That theme needs to be obvious and needs to connect. In our film, I feel the stories are connected by true human emotions and relevant issues that northeastern India is facing. Anthology films are a very different and smart way of storytelling.

I feel the Hindi film industry is bigger in scale, in terms of budgets and the canvas. But I must mention Bengali films have some great talent, in all fields: great directors, actors, editors, musicians, writers, and also some great stories.