Anirban Chakrabarti is well aware of the massive love his sly and lovable detective Eken Babu has got over the years. In an exclusive interaction with Hindustan Times ahead of the release of The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika, the actor opened up about how it is always a joy to return to the character, shooting in Varanasi during the scorching Summers, and more. (Translated from Bengali) (Also read: Anirban Bhattacharya opens up on Hoichoi series Bhog: ‘It was an incredible offer as an actor’ | Interview)
On playing Eken Babu
What has been the best part about playing Eken? The actor says, “Out of all the characters I have played, Eken has become the most popular. It has become a franchise. I have played this character a total of 11 times! This is a rare occurrence for an actor. We started our journey with this character first in the web series format. Then it became popular, so we did a movie, and that became successful as well. So here we are… this entire journey has given us so much joy, and I must admit that as an actor, Eken has played a huge role in giving me an identity.”
“People have for the first time identified me for this part. It is my first major break, it has become a part of my identity as an actor… which is still continuing. People love me as Eken, which is extremely important to me,” he adds.
On shooting in Varanasi
As the title The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika suggests, this time Eken Babu and gang will be in Varanasi for all solving a mystery. When asked how it was shooting in the city, Anirban said, “Varanasi is one of my most favourite places to visit. I have been there multiple times as well. It is such a diverse city, spiritually and culturally rich. Usually, it is during the winters when I prefer to go to Varanasi. But this time we had to shoot during the summers, which was just a lot! The entire day time we had outdoor shoots, and face the rays of the sun. Now that was painful!”
He went on to say, “Of course, when one is shooting, there are fewer chances of sightseeing, and we were there during Holi. The festival has an important part to play in our film, and this time we saw the Masan Holi, which happens three days before the main day. It is played with ashes. That aside, Varanasi is known for its ghats, the small lanes and the Ganga aroti… those are also part of the film. During the shoot, we had to do a boat ride and go to the location in a ghat with all the technicians. We had to avoid the evenings because the place would get crowded due to the aroti.”
On working with Joydeep Mukherjee
The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika also brings back director Joydeep Mukherjee to the helm. Anirban gushes about working with Joydeep and says, “This is my 12th film with him. What happens is that when an actor and a director work together many times, the work becomes so much easier. Both of us are able to interpret the scenes in a much more flexible manner because we know each other’s patterns of work. That is an interesting and helpful point, which has taken place during the shoot of this film. It really does ease out so much. The schedules are very packed, so this tuning becomes really helpful. Joydeep, as a director, is very sorted, every aspect of the shoot is so well divided that for each and every actor in the cast, it becomes really easy. The camera angles, which shot will be done on a day, everything is decided before. As an actor, it is the best ever situation.”
Anirban concludes with a special message for the fans of Eken Babu. “The people have given so much love to Eken Babu, and this film promises a bigger thrill this time. It has been shot in a bigger way, and we have tried to do our best with this film as well. There are so many new faces this time, and the combination has been wonderful for the film. I am hopeful that the audience will love Eken this time,” he says.
The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika also stars Saswata Chatterjee, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Ishaa Saha, and Biswanath Basu. The film is all set to release in theatres on May 16.