Amitabh Bachchan is all buoyed about his next release, a Sujoy Ghosh production and debutant director Ribhu Dasgupta’s film ‘TE3N’.
ADC spoke to the star of the millennium about his eagerly awaited film and when asked what his role in the film is, he says, “It’s about a grandfather seeking justice for his granddaughter who has been missing and he seeks justice for her and tries to locate her for eight long years and is aided by a priest played by Nawazuddin Siddique and a cop played by Vidya Balan. It’s a vigilante sort of a character and I have played such roles but this time round Sujoy and Ribhu wanted him to be a little older and a little weak with a lot of problems on hand. He is an Anglo Indian character but speaks good Hindi and I have met many such Anglo Indians in Kolkata.”
We quiz him about his fascination for Kolkata where the film is set, he replies candidly, ''I am the jamai raja of Kolkata and have worked there for eight years in a coal distribution company called Bird and Co. and had a salary of Rs.400. I used to visit the Victoria Memorial and used to eat puchkas and other snacks for a paltry amount of one or two annas and I was filled with the taste of these dishes. Also, the Kolkata setting for this film was a second choice since we wanted to shoot the film in Goa but the authorities didn’t allow us. Then I suggested to Ribhu and Sujoy that we can shoot the film in Kolkata since the locations like Writers Building where we have shot for the first time are fabulous and even the fans are understanding and allow you to shoot peacefully without coming in the frame and generally the city of Kolkata is a most beautiful city.''
He adds about how the project was evolved, “I had worked with Sujoy in Alladin and he had initially come to me with a story set in Kerala but then he narrated to me the story of ‘Te3n’. I was hooked and he called on Ribhu with whom I had worked in the TV Show, Yudh, and had found him to be an exciting talent and the project got rolling.''
When asked about his co-stars he said, “I had worked with Vidya in PAA and it was a wonderful experience and though this time round, she has a special appearance in the film. It was a honour to work with her, and Nawazuddin ,who is a fantastic talent”.
When we enquired about the strange title of ‘TE3N’, he says, “for that, you have to see the film and maybe because there are three principal characters in the film (Laughs)”. This film is sure to grab eyeballs when it releases!