Actor Vinay Pathak was in Kolkata for the promotion of his recently released Bengali film Chegu on MX Player. The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with the talented actor in an exclusive conversation. Excerpts..

Tell us about your role in Chegu.

Vinay Pathak– I play a negative character in this film. The audience will get to see me in a new avatar. Pavel has a keen eye. He gets to see things that a normal person cannot think about or see. He understood that I will be able to enact this negative character and I was cast in this character. I am happy that I was made a part of this lovely and wonderful film.

Why did you accept to do this role?

Vinay Pathak– The story attracted me to do this role. Tagore’s Chuti has much affected the story. Both the protagonists are of the same age. It is also about losing innocence and entering the next stage of life.

How was the experience of shooting for Chegu in Kolkata?

Vinay Pathak- Great!! I have always loved coming to this city. I used to work in Dhanbad. Shooting for Chegu was interesting as it has been shot in real-life locations. Be it the slum, Hakim’s clinic, and other locations, everything was shot at real-life locations. Even while shooting with a limited budget, the fact that the team could find such real locations is commendable.

How was the experience of working with Pavel?

Vinay Pathak- As I said earlier, Pavel is a great creative director. He is a gentleman and a great talent to work with. I was privileged to have worked with him in Chegu.

The film was released on MX Player. Did you not want it to release in theatres?

Vinay Pathak- Cinema has evolved and film techniques have also evolved. It is not necessary to release all the films in halls as there are other ways of showing the film to the audience. The story of the film might not have appealed to many audiences and the film would not have got many halls. Instead by releasing it in a digital format, it can reach a larger section of the audience.

After this film, will we get to see you in more Bengali films?

Vinay Pathak- I would love to be a part of good Bengali films. I am always on the lookout for good stories. So let’s see when I get to do my next Bengali project.

Will you like to give any message to the audience?

Vinay Pathak- My only wish is that the audience must watch the film and then let me know whether they liked it or not. The film took four to five years to release and it has been made with full dedication and hard work. Moreover, this is my first Bengali film and hence I hope that the audience will support it as much as they have done my other works.

Video link of the interview- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zed0MZhz20w