Charlie Chopra’s mentor-actress Daminee Basu: Vishal Bhardwaj doesn’t shy away from appreciating others’ works | Exclusive

Vishal Bhardwaj took his fans by surprise as he dropped the pilot episode of Charlie Chopra last week. Based on Agatha Christie’s The Sittaford Mystery, the show features a bevy of actors, including Wamiqa Gabbi, Naseeruddin Shah, Neena Gupta, Lara Dutta, Ratna Pathak Shah, Paoli Dam, Gulshan Grover, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Imaad Shah, Vivaan Shah and several others in the lead. Meanwhile, Bengali actress and mentor Daminee Basu’s unmistakable presence as Mrs. Negi also surprised her fans. Besides acting in the series, she has mentored many young actors and actresses, including Wamiqa, Priyanshu Painyulli, Vivaan Shah, and others. In a chat with OTTplay, Daminee, aka Benny, talks about the series and her experience of working with Vishal Bhardwaj. 

“I am not surprised that nobody knew I was there. I am not great at telling people or talking to the media. It was Vishalji’s idea to put me in front of the camera,” Daminee said. “He thought if I was around, the junior party (young gang of actors and actresses) would get confidence,” she joked. 

The actress got introduced to Vishal Bhardwaj when she was scheduled to work on his ambitious project Midnight’s Children for Netflix. Unfortunately, the project hit a roadblock and never took off. “After seeing my audition, Vishalji said we must work together. During his Modern Love, I had another commitment. Finally, here it is,” she said. 

Daminee trained the young bunch of actors and actresses for the Agatha Christie adaptation. “I am more of a crew in the film. My work started with Vishalji months ago. The training started in January, and by the middle of February, we started shooting in Manali. It was piercing cold. We got back to Mumbai. Vishalji and his team recreated Manali in Mumbai, and it was so perfect that we used to wear the same winterwear right on the floors. The recreation was very competent,” she recalled.

Talking about the workshop, Daminee said, “Training them was a beautiful process. Their level of surrender was amazing. Every character is different, and so is every actor. They ask questions.”

Daminee termed the shooting days as an ‘extended picnic’. “It was chilling cold, and we used to sit and think of what to eat. I was more friendly towards Rekhaji (Bhardwaj). And Vishalji is the personification of ‘tameez’. He is the kindest and the most polite person I have seen. He is very particular about pronunciation. If there is a mistake, he would finish the shot and very quietly walk up to you and whisper to your ears about the mistake and take the shot again. He is calm and polite, and he doesn’t shy away from appreciating others’ works,” he said. 

Talking about Vishal Bhardwaj’s style of adapting classics, Daminee said, “He extracts the story and blends it in his style. Vishal has a perfect balance of respecting the legend (Shakespeare or Agatha Christie), but he prioritises his approach. Throughout the process of Charlie Chopra, I was the one who read the script. I used to talk and argue about scenes and characters. He is a multiple times National Award winner, and I am no one. And yet, he used to listen to me and engage in a conversation. Now, when I think about it, it seems, unknowingly, I hit my bucket list.”