Prosenjit was away shooting in Latur in Maharashtra when the change of government took place in West Bengal. He found his name listed in all the committees the new government had set up studio renovation,Nandan,the Kolkata Film Festival,everything that had to do with cinema in West Bengal. He went to meet the Chief minister of Bengal,Mamata Banerjee. For the first time,we seniors were pleasantly surprised to have been included in a decision-making panel dealing with issues linked to the Bengali film industry. I met Didi in person and we discussed certain things though I also informed her that I would not be able to do everything but would do the best I can, he said,smiling,proudly showing off a small marble statuette in white that the new CM had gifted him. Prosenjit has been chosen the face of FICCI Frames Kolkata. He attends every annual FICCI-Frames conference in Mumbai and was trying to persuade Amit Mitra,now the Finance Minister,to initiate FICCI Frames in Kolkata. About 8000-9000 people attend the event every year and I had realised long ago that a Kolkata edition would help the film industry tremendously as it is clued to technical innovations and progressions on the one hand and to every entertainment platform on the other. Suddenly,I found myself being chosen as the face of the event for the Bengali entertainment industry. It is a big responsibility but I think the time has come for me to concentrate on these things now. During the Chennai FICCI-Frames last year,Kamal Haasan called me up and insisted that he wanted me beside him. But I was away shooting for Moner Manush then and could not respond immediately. His home production house,Ideas Creations,is doing extremely well with wonderful serials across several Bengali channels. The one no can stop talking about was Gaaner Oparey,a tribute to Rabindranath Tagore that went on for a fixed number of episodes. Veteran actor Sabyasachi Chakrabortys two sons Gaurav and Arjun,made their debut in the serial and it bagged a large number of awards for the best television soap. I have a very good team in place and my wife Arpita also takes care of the overall administration. We are planning a different kind of reality show called Benche Thakar Gaan which will not have any competitive element, he informs. Just back from Los Angeles where he shot for Aniruddha Roychoudhurys Aparajita Tumi,a love triangle,Prosenjit was happy to work with his two leading ladies Padmapriya and Kamalini Mukherjee. This is the first Bengali film for both the actresses based in the South. Do you know how many National Award winners the film has in its cast and crew? Both Padmapriya and Kamalini have won National Awards. Anirudhha has won more than one and so has our cameraman Ranjan Palit. I too won a Special Jury Award for Dosar, Prosenjit interjects modestly. In the meantime,he is waiting for the release of Srijit Mukherjees second film Baishey Srabon slated to release this month. In Shanghai,directed by Dibakar Banerjee,Prosenjit plays Dr. Ahmadi,a middle-aged socialist who also teaches abroad. Kalki Koechlin plays a 22-year-old who falls in love with him. She finds him sensually and romantically irresistible though he is married and has a child. It was wonderful working with Kalki and Emraan Hashmi who are in the film, says Prosenjit,though it was tough to shoot in Laturs dry heat during May. This was also the first time the actor shot in sync sound. It was a learning experience for me, he sums up. Shoma A. Chatterji
