‘Was Away For 7 Years, But Industry Didn’t Forget Me’

‘I
chose
to
give
priority
to
my
personal
life.’
‘It’s
not
like
I
didn’t
want
to
act
but
I
guess
with
certain
times
in
your
life,
you
have
to
handle
certain
things.’
‘I’ve
had
a
couple
of
ups
and
downs,
so
I
kept
taking
breaks.’

Chitrangda
Singh‘s
spontaneous
text
to
Neeraj
Pandey
landed
her
a
chunky
part
in
the
Netflix
series

Khakee:
The
Bengal
Chapter.

She
plays
a
fierce
politician
named
Nibedita
Basak
in
the
political
thriller,
which
also
features
Bengali
stalwarts
Prosenjit
Chatterjee,
Jeet,
Saswata
Chatterjee
and
Parambrata
Chatterjee.

“I
reach
out
to
people
if
I
hear
something
exciting
is
happening.
It’s
not
like
I
have
so
much
work
going
around
all
the
time,”
Chitrangda
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com.

What’s
the
last
few
days
been
like
since

Khakee
dropped
on
Netflix?

Well,
I’m
still
nervous.

I’m
still
looking
out
for
all
the
negative
reviews.

The
good
ones
are
coming
but
I’m
one
of
those
who
also
want
to
know
what
people
didn’t
like.

Overall,
I
have
to
say,
it’s
all
been
very
positive.

Not
many
actors
would
read
negative
comments…

For
me,
both
negative
and
positive
are
very
important.
I
look
out
for
everything.

Trolling
is
there,
but
I
don’t
think
all
trolls
are
telling
lies.

People
have
a
certain
opinion
that
we
may
not
like.

As
an
actor,
I
want
to
know
where
I
am
going
wrong
or
if
it
wasn’t
good
enough.

I
thought
your
character
Nibedita
was
the
most
human
character
in

Khakee.
She’s
fighting
a
good
fight,
and
we
also
see
her
moral
dilemma
when
she
has
to
take
tough
decisions.
What
is
it
about
this
character
that
spoke
to
you?

It
is
a
male-dominated
story,
right?
And
then
there
is
this
one
woman
in
the
middle
of
it,
who,
like
you
said,
is
the
most
human
character.
She’s
probably
the
one
with
the
most
painful,
emotional
journey
as
well.

She’s
carrying
so
much
pain
and
yet,
she’s
so
strong.

She’s
beyond
me.

What
I
love
about
characters
is
when
opposites
are
at
play.
You
are
weak
and
vulnerable
but
there’s
a
certain
amount
of
tenacity
and
persistence
about
you,
whether
it’s
in
your
thought
or
in
your
being.

Nibedita
is
hung
onto
that
idealism
and
that
hope
which
keeps
her
going,
even
though
the
adult
world
breaks
her
down
a
bit.

How
did
you
get
on
board
for
this
show?

I
had
messaged
Neeraj
Pandey
(the
creator
of
the
show)
saying
that
I
wanted
to
work
with
him.

This
was
about
a
month-and-a-half
before
I
got
a
call
back
from
him.

He
said,
‘I’m
not
directing
but
I’ve
written
this
show
and
it
is

Khakee.’

I
liked
the
idea.

The
Bihar
Chapter
was
already
there,
and
the
fact
that
there
was
Prosenjit
and
Jeet,
and
all
these
stalwarts
from
Bengal.
Plus,
Netflix.

There
was
too
many
good
things
in
there.

Are
you
comfortable
reaching
out
to
makers
for
roles?

Absolutely.
I
have
no
problem
reaching
out
to
people
at
all.

I
reach
out
to
people
if
I
hear
something
exciting
is
happening.
It’s
not
like
I
have
so
much
work
going
around
all
the
time.

It’s
more
like
praising
their
work
and
giving
a
compliment.

Also,
because
people
have
a
short
memory
in
this
industry.

Since
you
play
a
politician,
do
you
take
active
interest
in
politics?

Yes,
it
does
interest
me.
I
am
politically
aware.

Growing
up,
we
would
have
discussions
with
my
father.
We
would
always
talk
about
what’s
going
on
in
politics
and
the
country.

He
was
in
the
Army
and
I
suppose
that’s
why
the
interest.

Even
with
my
brother,
there’s
always
been
conversation
about
such
things.

You
made
a
sensational
debut
back
in
2005
with

Hazaaron
Khwaishein
Aisi.
What
are
your
memories
from
that
film?

People
remind
me
of
it
every
now
and
then.
It
is
amazing!

I
was
in
New
York
and
this
girl
walked
up
to
me
in
some
mall.
She
said
we
are
watching

Hazaaron
Khwaishein
Aisi
for
our
film
appreciation
course.
It
felt
great.

I
don’t
think
any
of
us
were
aware
that
we
were
part
of
something
that
would
be
loved
so
much
and
become
a
cult
classic.
Except
Sudhir
(Mishra,
Director)
maybe.

As
an
actor,
I
don’t
think
I
could
have
asked
for
anything
better.
It
is
probably
my
life’s
best
accident.
It
has
given
me
everything.

After
that,
you
were
away
from
the
limelight
for
some
time.

I
was
away
for
almost
seven
years.

I
took
a
break
because
I
had
a
son
and
was
in
a
different
city.
I
chose
to
give
priority
to
my
personal
life.

It’s
not
like
I
didn’t
want
to
act
but
I
guess
with
certain
times
in
your
life,
you
have
to
handle
certain
things.

I’ve
had
a
couple
of
ups
and
downs,
so
I
kept
taking
breaks.

As
they
say
about
this
profession,
out
of
sight
is
out
of
mind.
How
difficult
was
it
to
make
a
comeback?

It
wasn’t
like
I
wanted
to
sit
at
home
and
take
a
break.

I
love
cinema.
Maybe
I
just
haven’t
had
a
chance
to
get
the
kind
of
work
I
was
looking
for
or
the
kind
of
filmmakers
that
I
would
want
to
work
with.

I
know
there
is
a
perception
that
she’s
too
choosy.
I
don’t
think
it’s
about
being
choosy.
It’s
about
doing
good
work.

I
am
thankful
people
still
remember
me.

The
industry
didn’t
forget
me.

You
dipped
your
toes
into
production
with
the
Diljit
Dosanjh-starrer

Soorma
(2018).
But
that
one
your
only
producer
credit.

That
was
a
passion
project.
It’s
not
like
I
seriously
decided
to
run
a
production
house.

I
heard
his
story
and
said,
oh
my
God,
we’ve
got
to
make
a
film
about
him.
He’s
a
real
life
hero

(The
film
is
based
on
the
life
of
hockey
player
Sandeep
Singh).

I
literally
wrote
myself
a
20
pager
and
put
out
a
visual
presentation
of
what
we
think
the
film
should
be.
I
pitched
it
to
the
studios.

Like
I
said,
I
love
cinema.
So
however
the
medium
—
whether
it’s
producing
or
writing
—
I’d
always
want
to
do
it.

Even
now,
there
are
two
projects
I’m
very
excited
about.

I
am
producing
something.
And
there’s
a
series
that
I’ve
co-written. 

Of
course,
acting
comes
first.

Out
of
all
the
characters
you
have
played
so
far,
which
one
is
your
personal
favourite?

The
one
that
I
played
in

Inkaar.

That
character
is
probably
70
per
cent
me.

Maya
was
so
modern,
emotional
and
grounded.

Also,
so
opposite.

She
was
in
love.
She
was
so
strong
but
yet,
so
weak
for
the
same
man.

That’s
who
we
are
as
people.

Do
you
think
you
have
been
typecast
in
certain
uber
stylish,
modern
woman
roles?

That’s
something
you
have
to
keep
fighting.

Every
actor
faces
this.

You
do
action
for
too
long
and
they’re
like,
oh
a
good
action
hero.

You
hope
that
some
filmmaker
will
see
you
in
a
different
light.

I
don’t
think
anybody
would
have
seen
me
doing

Aao
Raja
(the
song
from
Gabbar
Is
Back)
but
Bhansali
sir
(Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali,
who
produced
the
film)
saw
me
like
that.
Before
that,
it
was
Farah
(Khan,
Producer)
for

Joker.

Even
for

Desi
Boyz,
I
don’t
know
how
Rohit
(Dhawan,
Director)
thought
of
me.

I
feel
like
every
actor
waits
for
a
filmmaker
to
think
out
of
the
box
and
push
the
boundaries
a
bit.

What
kind
of
roles
are
you
looking
for
at
this
juncture
of
your
career?

I’d
love
to
do
comedy.

I’d
love
to
do
action.

My
God,
I’d
love
to
do
action!
That
would
be
really
something.

What’s
next
for
you?

A
Netflix
film

Raat
Akeli
Hai
2
with
Nawaz
(Nawazuddin
Siddiqui).
We’ve
just
finished
shooting
for
that.

Then.
the
full-on
commercial,

masala
film

Housefull
5.
It
is
releasing
in
June.