Abar Bibaho Obhijaan actress Priyanka Sarkar: I wish I was as brave and outspoken as my character

In 2019, Birsa Dasgupta’s Bibaho Obhijaan impressed the audience with its slapstick comedy. After four tears, the same characters, played by Ankush, Nusraat Faria, Priyanka Sarkar, Sohini Sarkar, Rudranil Ghosh, and Anirban Bhattacharya, are back with another adventure in the sequel, Abar Bibaho Obhijaan. This time, it is directed by Soumik Halder. Before the release, Priyanka, who plays Malati, speaks with us about the shooting experience and her character. 

The shooting of the film took place in Thailand and the entire team went to Pattaya in November. Was it fun? Priyanka said that they had to abide by a tight shooting schedule. “It was November – the beginning of winter in Kolkata. In Thailand, it was summer. We were sweltering hot. Also, when you are shooting abroad, you have multiple pressures – to wrap up shooting on time, manage local artistes, deal with the language issues and interpreters, and so on. When we got time, we chatted among ourselves, stepped out, and explored the place. The co-actors – Ankush, Rudrada, and Anirban – are all fun-loving people. Nusraat (Faria) knows Pattaya like the back of her hand and she took us out. Moreover, when you shoot abroad, you feel a little carefree. You tend to be less hassled and feel no stress about getting up at 4 am. However, the shooting was hectic.”

Priyanka plays the character of Malati – a rural girl who is outspoken and brave. Does Priyanka have a little bit of Malati in her? “I wish I was as outspoken and brave as Malati,” she joked, adding, “One of the reasons I love this film is I could live a life of an outspoken girl through Malati. She is brave and has a simple worldview.” 

How did he prepare for the character? Priyanka said the main work was done during the first film. “The basic character development took place when we were working on Bibaho Obhijaan with Birsada (Dasgupta). I am grateful to Birsada and Rudrada as they have established the character in Bibaho Obhijaan. In this one, we get to see how these characters react when they go abroad. How Gansha (Anirban) and Malati (Priyanka) talk to people abroad and how they deal with their culture shock is the fun element in the film. People will also get to explore the newly built post-marriage chemistry between Gansha and Malati,” she said. 

Playing Malati is a break from the serious characters Priyanka has been playing recently. Talking about her artistic exploration, she said, “Comedy is very difficult. I could also feel the pressure because I was working with a group of very powerful actors and actresses. I got the support of the script. What I enjoyed the most was the laughter while script reading and shooting. It is a hilarious film and it left us in splits. That is the USP of the film. In this stressful world, this acts as a relief. That’s why, probably, Bibaho Obhijaan worked. It has smart humour and is not imposed. It is all about situational comedy. The characters are funny and generally impress the viewers from both urban and rural areas. It is a break from your regular drama. You find something lighter. I want to explore many characters. In Kolkatar Harry, my character is different and in Manabjamin, it is further different. I want to work with a wide range of characters.”