“An artiste always strives for a bigger audience,” begins Parambrata Chattopadhyay, alluding to one of the many reasons why he is dabbling in Hindi cinema. The Bengali actor-filmmaker might have made his Bollywood debut with Kahaani (2012) a decade ago, but his appearances in Hindi offerings have become more frequent only in the past two years, from Bulbbul (2020) to Aranyak (2021).

Now, he is happy to divide his time between Kolkata and Mumbai. “Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the country, and working in the industry widens one’s horizons. [That said], an artiste nourishes himself in many ways creatively, regardless of the language,” he says.

There is no dearth of offers for Chattopadhyay. He recently wrapped up the shoot of Sudhir Mishra’s short film that sees him opposite Taapsee Pannu. The short will be a part of the Anubhav Sinha-backed anthology. With it, he has ticked one item off his bucket list — working with Mishra.

“I have admired his work for a long time. Taapsee is among the most important female actors in the country today. I have always liked her choices as an actor, from Pink [2016] to Thappad [2020] and Dobaaraa. It’s joyful to work with a visionary director and gifted co-actors with whom you can exchange creative ideas.”

The actor will also be seen in the second season of Mumbai Diaries. Rumours suggest that he plays a grey character in Nikkhil Advani’s web series. “My look can count as grey. It’s a salt-and-pepper look,” he quips, before adding that he searches for “intricate characters” rather than distinguishing them as white or grey.

“I look for stories where I am pushing the boundaries. This show achieved that. I enjoyed working with Nikkhil, who is in so much command of his craft. The best part was working with my favourite actor Konkona Sen Sharma.”