Aranyak actor Parambrata Chatterjee: 'Because of OTT revolution, people are now aware of the Bengali work that I've done'

Actor Parambrata Chatterjee says streaming platforms have introduced his work in the Bengali film industry to fans who know him only through Sujoy Ghosh-directed " Kahaani " or his other Hindi projects. The 2012 thriller featured Vidya Balan as a pregnant woman searching for her missing husband in Kolkata during the Durga Puja festival. She finds help from the cop Satyoki 'Rana' Sinha, played by Chatterjee.

The actor has had an incredible career in the Bengali film industry with films such as "Hemanter Pakhi", "Hemlock Society", "Shonar Pahar", "Samantaral", " Hercules ", "Hawa Bodol", among others. His films in Hindi also include "Traffic", " Pari ", "Bulbbul", "Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi", " Black Widows" and the web show "Aranyak".

"I have done so much work especially in Bengali cinema. I don't expect people outside Bengal to kind of recognize that all the time. But what is interesting to note is, because of the OTT revolution, people are now aware of the Bengali work that I've done, Chatterjee told PTI in a zoom interview.

He said during his recent work trip to Delhi, few locals came up to him and praised his body of work. After watching his Hindi films like Kahaani and others, they had discovered his Bengali films with subtitles.

"I was so intrigued to hear them. This is the revolution that is happening. I would feel a little sad that I have done a lot of work after Kahaani', I'm always referred to as Kahaani' actor, that is still my primary reference point. But works like Pari', Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi' have got bigger shelf life, recognition, because of OTT. Also, the Bengali films are getting a fresh lease of life because of OTT," he said.

The 41-year-old actor, however, does not mind if some people recognise him for "Kahaani" as the film has a cult status in thrillers.

"People always look for the biggest common denominator, so that is Kahaani' in my case. It will always remain dear in our hearts," he added.

Asked whether he wanted a spin-off of his character from "Kahaani" considering Ghosh recently directed Abhishek Bachchan as " Bob Biswas ", Chatterjee said it would be a good idea to explore Rana's backstory in a prequel or a spin-off but he would want the director to only cast him in the role. As an audience, Chatterjee said he too has been introduced to cinema in various languages including Israeli, Turkish, Moroccan, South African, Polish, Scandinavia, Iceland content, courtesy OTT. In India, he said, there is still a need to talk about cinema from different languages, like Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi.

"The cultural exchange of cinema is happening. People are waking up to identities of other corners of the country. Also, the creative exchange has become a lot easier and accessible," he added.

Chatterjee, meanwhile, is looking forward to the release of the Hindi web series Aranyak, which is fronted by popular 90s star Raveena Tandon.