Best known for her performance as Nazneen in the award winning film, “Brick Lane” and as Masha in the German film “Shadows of Time”, demure actress Tannishtha Chatterjee has come to be known as the ‘princess of parallel cinema'. While she's usually in the news each time her films are screened at the several international film festivals, this time around, Tannishtha is in the limelight for a different reason.
She has been chosen as the celebrity of the month by UTV World Movies' for “50 movies to watch before you die.” Tannishtha gets to choose four of her personal favourites that would be telecast on the show. The list includes “The Band's Visit”, “Janis and John”, “No Man's Land” and “Iberia”.
“This is a much needed move considering some of the critically acclaimed, small budget or less promoted films of international significance come and go without much notice of the regular movie goers,” Tannishtha says. “This is like giving a good movie another chance to make that indelible impression in the minds of the viewers. Also there is a misconception of world cinema. Some films are sometimes as intriguing, humourous and successful at the box office as other commercial potboilers.” The actor explains the reasons behind her choices. ‘“The Band's Visit' is an Israeli film that involves travelling to an unknown place where each of the characters faces some challenge or the other. ‘Janis and John' is about contemporary life and a noteworthy film made by a lesser known filmmaker. ‘No Man's Land' was an obvious pick because this is a classic war drama that caught the fancy of critics and masses alike. I chose ‘Iberia' because it is a celebration of dance and culture.”
Tannishtha, who has worked with directors and actors from different parts of the world, seems to effortlessly segue between international and Indian cinema. “There's no monotony and that's what I love about the kind of work that comes my way. Each filmmaker is different and so are his ideas, style of working and his treatment of a topic,” she says.
Stating that Indian cinema has truly come of age, Tannishtha foresees a glorious future for independent filmmaking in India. “Finally directors are steering off the beaten track, taking risks and coming out with something critically phenomenal and acceptable to the masses simultaneously.”
Tannishtha, who doffs her cap to filmmakers of regional cinema, feels that Bollywood could do with original stories. She opines: “We've had too many adaptations and remakes. It is about time we get down to the basics and take to writing original stories. Sometimes the idea behind a movie is good but the execution fails only because we deliver the draft and not the real thing!”
Some Indian directors she would love to work with include Anurag Kashyap and Rajkumar Hirani. Does this mean she's ready to go down the commercial cinema route?
“One could be an actor either because she wants to make a statement or because she likes to entertain or simply because she's got a lot of money running on her. It is when one strikes the right balance between the three that doing a particular film becomes more meaningful so I'm open to a commercial film if a good role comes my way.” The actor is also a trained Hindustani classical vocalist and has sung for her own films apart from others. “Singing to me is as natural as breathing is,” she chuckles. “I always manage to find time to make music professionally and otherwise.” Tannishtha who is an avid reader is presently looking forward to working on an American and an Australian project that are shaping up.
You can catch Tannishtha Chatterjee's pick of the week, “No Man's Land” tonight at 8.30pm on UTV World Movies.
