Subhashree Ganguly on Indubala Bhaater Hotel: I surely want our OTT industry to grow along with our film industry | Exclusive

Along with Subhashree, the show also features Rahul Banerjee, Debopratim Dasgupta, Angana Roy, Suhotra Mukhopadhya, Pratik Dutta, Mithu Chakraborty, and others.

Subhashree Ganguly

Subhashree Ganguly has made her grand entry in OTT with Debaloy Bhattacharya’s Indubala Bhaater Hotel on Hoichoi. Based on Kallol Lahiri’s hit novel, the first four episodes of the series were dropped on March 8. Along with Subhashree, the show also features Rahul Banerjee, Debopratim Dasgupta, Angana Roy, Suhotra Mukhopadhya, Pratik Dutta, Mithu Chakraborty, and others.

The story delves into the journey of Indubala, who leaves her childhood village in Bangladesh and comes to Kolkata as a newlywed bride of a lecherous man. Subhashree is seen as a middle-aged and elderly Indubala. Evidently, the look of elderly Indubala involves a lot of prosthetic makeup. “It used to take about three to three and a half hours to put the makeup on and around one hour to take it off. When I used to remove the makeup, deposited sweat used to gush out like water. But that was the least of our concerns. No struggle used to bother me in those 20-odd days. I was engrossed in shooting and living the character. Now when I look back, I think that those were challenging days. It was summertime and the prosthetic makeups have no pour. There was no breathability in the makeup. We all overcame the pain through the sheer good work we were doing,” she said.

Subhashree worked with a bunch of young actors and actresses, including, Suhotra Mukhopadhyay, Angana Roy, Parijat Chaudhuri, Pratik Dutta, Sneha, and others, in the Indubala Bhaater Hotel. Talking about them, the actress said, “The entire team was fabulous. We all lived the characters. From Parijat to Pratik No one wanted to show off their acting skills. No one wanted to overshadow others. We all were organic and natural. We lived within the idea of the Indubala Bhaater Hotel. This has been reflected on the screen.”

Also read: Debaloy Bhattacharya on Indubala Bhaater Hotel: Subhashree Ganguly doesn’t show off, but her performance speaks

Indubala has received moderate to positive responses so far. Talking about reactions, Subhashree said, “We all were a bit tense. Those who read the book have built a world of Indubala in their head. Ever since the series was announced, they were skeptical about the adaptation. After the first four episodes, they expressed their happiness on social media. As of now, we got an overwhelming response. The only criticism we received so far was why only four episodes were dropped by the platform.”

Subhashree is evidently, one of the first stars to debut on OTT. According to many experts close to the industry, there are still reservations among the stars about working on OTT. “When The announcement took place, some people asked if it was the right decision from my end. I see it as a natural progression. These days, we all watch fascinating works on OTT almost every day. As a creative individual, I was eager to work in OTT. I was getting offers. I told myself that I would do an OTT project as soon as I get a good character. Having said that, I did not say yes to this project to influence others. The main reason I said yes to Indubala was because of the character. I would say yes to this character even if it was a film or something else. I seriously do not know if I influenced anyone. If I did it unknowingly, I am glad. I surely want our OTT industry to grow along with our film industry,” said the actress.

Indubala Bhaater Hotel came at a time when Bengali OTTs are driven by thrillers and stories of urban emotions. Subhashree said that it was futile to estimate what viewers might like. “There is no point in thinking about what would be liked by the audience or to who do we target. There are divisions even among the OTT viewers. Some people like thrillers and some like action content. We wanted everyone to watch Indubala Bhater Hotel. We Bengalis are a race of emotional people. Most of our viewers connected with the show. People from Bangladesh reached out to us. It is very fulfilling,” she said.

Meanwhile, Subhashree is also emerging as a producer of Raj Chakrabarty’s Abar Proloy for Zee5. how is the new responsibility going? “It is exciting to be a producer. I have been in this industry for 17 years and I always had an interest in production. Meanwhile, we also have a production company. That helped. Earlier, I produced a music reality show, but Abar Proloy was a full-blown production. Until this project, I used to sign contracts as an artiste and this time, I made so many people sign contracts. It took me days to make that happen. It literally means Raj Chakrabarty (husband and director) is working under me on this project (laughs out loud),” she said.

Raj and Subhashree’s son Yuvaan has made multiple appearances on their social media handles from the Abar Proloy set. Is he gearing up for a debut? “Yuvaan loves sets. I went to host a Zee Bangla Sonar Sangsar and she rode his car on the stage on the day of technical rehearsals. He just did not get down from the stage. Yes, he went to the sets of Abar Proloy often. He is so smart that he kept absolutely quiet as soon as his father would command, ‘Silence on the floor’. He is very naughty otherwise. But on the set, he would not talk, only murmur to me,” said the proud mother.

What does Subhashree want her son to be – an actor, a director, or a producer? “I want him to become a good and respectful human being. I will support him in whatever he wants to pursue in his career. But I want him to be a good man. My job is to instill values in his life. As long as that is done, I am happy,” she said promptly.

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