And why Vidya briefly was associated with the biopic on the Sen matriarch
Subhash K Jha (DNA; June 14, 2015)

Raima Sen is all set to play her grandmother Suchitra Sen in Bengali director Abhijit Choudhury’s Nayika. Jisshu Sengupta, who played Deepika Padukone’s best friend in Piku will play Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar and the film will attempt to explore the relationship between the charismatic pair that worked together in 30-odd films.

Vidya Balan recently went on record that she was approached for the project and declined it saying Raima would be the right choice to play Suchitra, physically and emotionally.

Says Raima, “The project has been in the pipeline for two years. I was the original choice because of my obvious connect to the character. But the dates kept getting postponed. Then I was asked in January to shoot for it. I couldn’t shoot for it at that time as my dates were blocked for Ishq Kabhi Kariyo Na with Prateik. Meanwhile, I heard Vidya was doing it and then I heard she wasn’t.”

Raima has returned to the project and shooting is expected to commence soon.

Playing Uttam
Jisshu is excited about playing Bengal’s biggest star. He adds, “No one knows the true nature of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen’s friendship. They were not just terrific co-stars they were also very close friends. Uttam Kumar was the only person from the film industry who could call her by her real name, Roma. Theirs was a very complex, very deep bonding. To play Uttam Kumar is a big honour for me.”

Jisshu’s mother-in-law actress Anjana Bhowmick has worked with Uttam Kumar. Jisshu intends to take tips from her on how to play the matinee idol. He says, “I will consult my mother-in-law on the kind of clothes he wore, the way he spoke, etc. But I won’t imitate him. No way! He has a very strong screen image. I’d look caricatural trying to behave like him. My director and have decided that I won’t imitate him and will try to reach his soul, and not his physicality.”