Dawshom Awbotaar-actor Prosenjit Chatterjee: If I do something in Bollywood, it has to be a strong

Years after Baishe Srabon, Probir Roychoudhury’s magic is back. Prosenjit plays the iconic character, first in Baishe Srabon and then in Dawshom Awbotaar, both directed by Srijit Mukherji. Probir’s sharp dialogues and swag have created a buzz among his fans. Dawshom is billed as the first cop universe in Bengali cinema. Anirban Bhattacharya plays Bijay Poddar (of Vinci Da) in the film. Dawshom Awbotaar was released on October 19.

Was the cop universe Prosenjit's brainchild? In an interview, Prosenjit revealed, “No, this was not exactly my idea. But people loved my character and they demanded it to return. I asked Srijit to make a similar character, though I did not ask him to bring back Probir since that character died in Baishe Srabon. But Srijit took back the story 11 years behind and made the prequel of Baishe Srabon and Vinci da. This thought is the first in Bengali cinema.”

Also read: Dawshom Awbotaar review: Prosenjit Chatterjee and Anirban Bhattacharya’s bromance blooms in Srijit Mukherji’s masala thriller 

Rohit Shetty also made a cop universe in Bollywood. What is the difference? Prosenjit said 'The worlds are different. if a cop runs mile after mile, they will pant. Srijit showed that. Our characters are like our urban cops. They have human emotions but still, they go on working. Rohit Shetty’s world is larger. Cars randomly explode and fly away there, unlike in Srijit's movies.” 

Prosenjit’s recent works in Bollywood have garnered him appreciations from every quarter. What is his next project after Scoop and Jubilee? “This is not a question of choosing a project. In my 40-year-old career, I worked with David Dhawan and Dibakar Banerjee. Then I did Jubilee and Scoop. But it does not mean that I went there to do something. When people realise that a character will suit me, they come to me. If I do something in Bollywood, that has to be a strong character. I will not do any random role. It has to be a strong role and show what I learned in the last forty years.” 

Also read: Exclusive! Prosenjit Chatterjee on his birthday: Not a resolution, but my dream to sit on the director’s chair should come true now 

Prosenjit once said that Bollywood does not give work to regional actors. Has it changed? “It is not like that they don't give us work. We also don’t seek work there. What I wanted to tell in that interview was that there was a time when we Bengali actors did not know what a Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, or Malayalam actor was working on. Nowadays, writers and actors are coming from different places, thanks to OTT. It is a great exposure with many opportunities.”