Zeenat Aman, who’s in town to launch Ritabhari Chakraborty’s calender, speaks to us about her career, being ‘parented by her kids’, and how cinema has evolved over the years since her time. Excerpts from the chat:

When I was persuaded by my kids to join Instagram, I really did not expect the engagement I received. The involvement of my fans on social media has brought me great joy and a sense of responsibility towards them.

Commercial cinema is definitely male dominated. In my time, female actors had little to do. However today, as there are streaming platforms, a wider variety of films are being made. Now, stronger, nuanced and varying roles are being written for women.

Uttam Kumar was a prolific artiste whose career has spanned over five generations. He was a shining example of what any artiste should aspire for. I think he endures because his performances looked effortless and charming.

There are multiple things I look into. For instance, who is the character I’ll be portraying? Who are the people that I am working with? How long will I be committed to a project? Is it going to be a joyous experience?

Social media has brought with it a lot of pressure for young actors today. It is important to trust your gut along with your intellect when it comes to navigating this. Most importantly, seek joy in whatever you do.

Don’t do it from a vanity point of view, but from a health and longevity point of view.

There’s plenty in the pipeline, so my fans will just have to stay tuned!

Honestly, when I look back at some of my films in the past, I cringe. I have changed so much as a person and as a woman that I certainly would not have made some of the choices that I had made back then. But at the same time, I will say that I was just very happy to be consistently working. There has been a tremendous shift in the work environment. For example, in my time, nobody had vanity vans. Due to the analog nature of filmmaking back then, actors did not have the privilege of having instantaneous replay of their work. Also, I am so pleased to see so many women working in various roles in the film industry now.

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About launching Ritabhari’s calendar, Zeenat Aman sais, "She’s a vibrant, dynamic talented young actor, who is straddling both worlds of cinema – in Bengali and in Hindi. I was happy to participate in the launch of this calendar. It resonates with me because I believe in the embodiment of woman power and I like to support it."

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"I now relate to my kids as adults, as my friends. And I value their opinions in spite of them sometimes treating me like an eight-year-old girl"

Some films are special not only for their stories, but also for their place in a country’s history. Filmmaker Bijukumar Damodaran’s Papa Buka is an example, becoming Papua New Guinea’s first Oscar entry. Actor Ritabhari Chakraborty considers herself lucky to have been part of the film.

“I didn’t know much about Papua New Guinea before. When I landed there, I remember the locals welcoming me, dancing and singing at the airport because they were excited that a film representing them would be made. In that moment, I realized it’s so much bigger than just a film. It’s a nation’s history,” she says.

Produced by Pa Ranjith, the film — a collaboration between India and Papua New Guinea — revolves around an army veteran, who helps two Indian historians discover the unknown connection between the two countries. It marks Chakraborty’s second collaboration with the director after Painting Life (2017). “I love the way Biju visualizes things and his sensibility,” she shares.

Shooting in the Kokoda Trail was a novel and challenging experience. “We shot in the national park, which had no toilets. So, my manager and I had to plan when we’d use the facility, an hour in advance, so that we could go all the way out of the national park and to the motel. But I don’t regret any part of it. It was such an interesting experience and the people are so warm. I felt one with the people.”

Bengali actor Ritabhari Chakraborty marked her Hindi film debut with short film Naked (2017) alongside actor Kalki Koechlin. She followed it with another noteworthy performance in Pari (2018) where she shared screen space with actor Anushka Sharma. And now, she is set to return to the Hindi film industry with the short film Broken Frame and an untitled film.

She reveals that the pressure to match up to Pari made her very choosy about projects in Mumbai. She elaborates, “I got offers for other films. Not having a proper idea of what I should do next, I went to my casting agency every time a project came my way, where I was told that whatever I do, it shouldn’t be below [the level] of Pari. So, I ended up saying no to a lot of things.”

Chakraborty reveals she even began prepping for a project but couldn’t be a part of it eventually, and a few others didn’t see the light of the day. “For one project, I lost 12kgs to play a girl from the slums. But then the director got changed at the last minute and he brought a whole new cast [onboard],” she shares.

Apart from the Coronavirus pandemic which delayed schedules, the actor adds that undergoing two back-to-back surgeries also came in the way of her Hindi film career: “I had an abscess and fistula surgery. I had to be hospitalized to get a procedure done every second day for six months between both the procedures. It took me a few months to feel centred again.”

Chakraborty, who penned a song last year and has pitched one of her scripts to a production house recently, continues, “I was on bed rest for four-five months. I lost touch with everyone and with everything I was doing. It was towards the end of 2021 that I began reconnecting with everyone in Bollywood.”