Shonar Pahar was an opportunity to portray my story on screen: Actress Tanuja

Veteran actress Tanuja is all set to feature in Bengali film, Shonar Pahar, directed by Parambrata Chatterjee. Embracing new technology, the veteran actress interacted with the media through a Facebook live session yesterday (15 May).

According to the actress, she was informed that her character would reflect the struggles similar to her own experiences in life.

“I got that brief right in the beginning when he told me the subject of the film. I could relate to the ups and downs and the struggle that Upama [her character] goes through with mine and also perceived how she can come out of it and be happy and joyful again. So I felt that it was also an opportunity to portray my story on screen,” exclaimed the actress.

In a recent interview with us, director Chatterjee mentioned that he essentially chose Tanuja because she doesn’t really bother to maintain a celebrity image and looks real as an elderly woman with the marks of age that stands for all the struggles that she has gone through in life.

Tanuja is a free-spirited and feisty woman: Parambrata Chatterjee on Shonar Pahar casting

Reportedly, the actress listened to the story and agreed to do the film over a lunch with the director. She also observed that the theme of the film is 'sensitive'.

Praising the director, Tanuja said, “He thinks for himself and has got a vision. When he could make me see his vision too, I sensed that he is a good director. I always feel that a good actor can be a good director too and he is one such. He has acted well in the film as well.”

The actress also recounted her overwhelming experience of working with child actor Srijato Banerjee, with whom she shares an unusual bond on screen, “Bitlu is an amazing child and so is his curiosity. He did not come up to my age; rather he brought me to his. He made me feel like a seven-year-old kid. He did not consider me to be an older woman, His approach was on one-to-one basis and I felt, Wow! I can be a kid again!”