I have to be a catalyst, says Undekhi actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya on picking roles

Dibyendu Bhattacharya has reprised his role as the iconic DCP [deputy commissioner of police] Ghosh in the second season of SonyLIV’s Undekhi. 

Directed by Ashish R Shukla and produced by Applause Entertainment, the first season saw the character attempting to send the rich and influential murderer Papaji (Harsh Chhaya) behind bars. This meant that he had to battle it out with his evil nephew Rinku (Surya Sharma). His efforts continue in the second season. 

In a conversation with Cinestaan.com, Bhattacharya said that it was both tough and easy to revisit the character, which he had played two years ago. “It is tough because there is a hiatus between two seasons due to the pandemic and other reasons. There was a two-year gap between the shoots of both the seasons.” 

“However, since you have played the character before, it somewhere still stays present inside you. It is about hitting the right note of the character. The director himself used to tell us whether we have done that.” 

The actor points out that there is a significant change in his character in the new season. “It was because of his deal that a guy [witness to the murder] gets killed,” he said. “So, he has this burden now. He could have saved him. But his main aim was to take this girl [another witness] to the hospital. He thought he would need to go out of the way to compete with Rinku, for which he doesn’t have any support system since he is alone. Everyone is against him, including the whole police force.” 

Bhattacharya’s positive character in Undekhi comes after quite a few negative roles, like the one in the first season of Criminal Justice. “I just play characters, whether they are negative or positive,” he said. “It feels good when critics praise your character like Layak in Criminal Justice. Also when they praise a positive character in Undekhi. An actor will last only if he does a variety of work.” 

The artiste, who has appeared in a variety of shows such as Jamtara: Sabka Number Ayega, The Gone Game and Rocket Boys, said he signs on for a particular role only when his character makes a difference. “How much he affects the story is important. If I am not a catalyst in the story, it is of no use. Else, there is no use of me. After that, I also look at the names who are a part of the project,” he said. 

Bhattacharya was recently praised for his work as Raza Mehdi in Rocket Boys. He is glad to have two projects back-to-back with SonyLIV. “It’s a very important platform in today’s times,” he said. “It has given some major hits. I hope I keep getting more good work from them.” 

In an earlier interview with Cinestaan.com, the performer shared his plans to turn director. “But I haven’t been able to work in that direction,” he said. “I just have no time to finish the existing work. I have become busy because of the blessings of God and you all [laughs]. So, I have, for the moment, stopped thinking about that.”

The pandemic is also responsible, he stated. “A lot of projects were put on hold. Even Undekhi (Season 2) was made after two years. It took us one full year to shoot Rocket Boys. The projects kept getting derailed after someone from the team got COVID-19. You can imagine the loss a producer faces in such a situation.”

Bhattacharya will next be seen in the second season of his shows Jamtara, Rocket Boys and The Gone Game as well as the movie Khuda Haafiz Chapter II.