Kolkata: Parambrata Chatterjee is the flavour of the season. He’s everywhere—on regional TV, Hindi films and OTT. But Mumbaikars still stumble over his distinctly Bengali name. “If you are going to use Devanagari, it should be Paramvrat,” he says. Yet fans can’t get enough of him. That is precisely why he has a slew of releases including the film Awasthi vs Awasthi, Amazon Prime Video’s P.I. Meena, and the second season of Mumbai Diaries.
There’s a stereotype about Bengali actors in the rest of India. They are supposed to be serious men with gravitas, intellect and critical thought. Parambrata is all this—and more. His laid-back, carefree demeanour belies the passion, perseverance and persistence behind his craft and the roles he takes up. The six-foot-tall actor with his impish smile can charm critics. And he has inherited the Bengali passion for good food.
“Puchkas are not my vice. It is pathar mangsho (Bengali-style mutton),” he confesses, with a sigh. He can rattle off names of the best places to eat in Kolkata — a small sweet shop near Jodhpur Park, Mouchak, or the street food on Gariahat road —with the same ease with which he expounds on the legacy of Bengali cinema.
He allows fans and followers a peek into his life on Instagram where he occasionally plays the guitar, shares goofy pictures with his adopted indie dog Nina, and holds fort on politics and cinema. His Hindi is near-flawless, and that’s because he is a self-confessed stickler for language and usage.
Many of Parambrata’s characters are what can be best described by the popular internet phrase, ‘men written by women.’ The trope describes men who fit the female gaze and are not necessarily written by a woman. Be it the tormented lover Arnab in the horror film Pari (2018), or the village doctor Sudip in Netflix’s Bulbbul (2020), the characters he plays are often sensitive, dependable men.
“We have a very long history of celebrating toxic masculinity, especially in cinema. But the way I was brought up, I was never taught to champion the typical ideas of masculinity. So, for me, men written by women are the men,” said Parambrata.
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‘Written by a woman’
He chooses unconventional roles, not the clean-cut, over-the-top romantic hero but the village doctor seemingly transfixed by a patient or a lover caught between two women.
In Pari, Arnab falls in love with Rukhsana (Anushka Sharma), who has been chained and abused, and protects her against those seeking to kill her. It’s a story of redemption and forgiveness. As Sudip, the man of medicine in 19th century Bengal, there is a hint of both attraction and empathy towards the protagonist Bulbbul, and an understanding of the life she has been forced to endure at the hands of her husband and sister-in-law.
Even in moments of playful banter and flirting, his eyes convey a deep sense of compassion. When challenged by Bulbbul’s brother-in-law Satya (Avinash Tiwary), Sudip refuses to give in to the simmering hostility. Parambrata brings to life the village doctor envisioned by director Anvita Dutt. The compassion never wavers, even when it is revealed that Bulbbul is a demon.
Parambrata avoids the commercial, toxic male hero, but OTT offers him a chance to explore the other side of masculinity.
“With the OTT revolution, nuanced, milder and sensitive characters have come to the fore. I hope for some [people], it changes the idea of men.”
This approach comes across even when he plays a cop alongside Raveena Tandon in the 2021 web series Aranyak. Instead of brash machismo, his cop, Angad Malik, is a rationalist, a staunch believer in science who brings logic to a crime that has a small town in the throes of panic. But there is an undercurrent of sympathy towards the mother whose teenager is killed, even as everyone judges her as a drug addict.
When directors call Parambrata, they are seeking an actor with nuance.
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On his own terms
With Bengali writer and activist Mahasweta Devi as an aunt, actor and singer Gita Ghatak as his grandmother, and filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak as a granduncle, Parambrata was not lacking in role models. He grew up with the privilege to experiment and explore who he wanted to be.
He had just completed his filmmaking course in London and was on the verge of embarking on a Europe trip when he got the call that changed the trajectory of his career. Director Sujoy Ghosh wanted then 30-year-old Chatterjee to act in his film.
He signed his first Hindi film and became Satyaki in the hit movie Kahaani (2012). The Bengali actor shot to fame almost overnight.
“Earlier, I had fans only in Kolkata and neighbouring states, now they are also in Mumbai and all over. I have been getting tweets from Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. It feels good,” said Parambrata in a 2012 interview.
He did not immediately shift base to Mumbai after Kahaani, as many expected he would. He chose to stay on in Kolkata, and act and make films that he believed in.
…for me, men written by women are the men
2012 was significant for the actor in the Bengali film industry as well. Two of his films became runaway hits — Bhooter Bhabishyat, a ghost comedy, and the cult crime thriller Baishe Srabon. Both films had an ensemble cast. Baishe Srabon, in particular, became a turning point for all the three actors who were part of the film–Parambrata Chatterjee, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Abir Chatterjee. It was an opportunity for Prosenjit to reinvent himself, Abir became the poster boy for unrequited lovers and Parambrata’s avatar as cop added a new feather to his cap.
Parambrata is an anomaly when it comes to regional actors finding a foothold in the Hindi entertainment industry. He did it on his terms, playing the parallel lead who is sensitive, mature and stands firm behind the woman he loves. As Satyaki, Parambrata held his own. His performance dazzled despite the towering presence of heavyweights like Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Made on a shoestring budget of 8 crores, Kahaani managed to earn Rs 59.26 crores worldwide. But the film’s success did not lure him down Bollywood’s glittery path.
“Until Bulbbul, the choices were not very conscious. They were more organic,” said Chatterjee, who has since acted in and received accolades for multiple OTT projects. His most recent Hindi project is Sony Liv’s thriller Jehanabad – Of Love & War (2023). Despite limited screen time, Parambrata’s portrayal of Naxal commander Deepak Kumar is potent. Set against the backdrop of a 2005 jailbreak to free Naxal leaders in Bihar, the web series allows Chatterjee to explore a morally grey character.
More than an actor
Parambrata dons the directorial hat with ease having made his debut in 2011 with the Bengali comedy Jiyo Kaka, starring Rituparna Sengupta and Rudranil Ghosh, followed by Hawa Bodol (2013).
The actor has also often been ahead of his times, like his stint in a Hindi film, or opening his production company, Roadshow Films, early in his acting career. It was one of the first production companies to dabble in OTT.
“Zee5’s first two Bengali projects were done by us. We made two series [Mafia (2018), and Kaali (2018)] and a film for them,” he said.
In West Bengal, he divides his time between acting and producing films. The actor has also written the script for his company’s latest venture, Biye Bibhrat (2023) where he plays a shy, socially awkward music teacher from the suburbs.
“Parambrata Chattopadhyay delivers a magnetic portrayal of Chandramouli, encapsulating his complex journey with exceptional depth and authenticity. His range of emotions, from vulnerability to wit, leaves an indelible mark on the audience,” wrote Souvik Saha in his review of the romantic comedy.
In 2022, he directed and acted in Boudi Canteen, a feminist take on a married woman’s ambitions. He plays Sourish, a supportive husband who encourages his wife to turn her passion for cooking into a profession. In many ways, he is the antithesis of the character played by Adil Hussain in Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish (2012).
If I have to choose three Bengali films of mine that people should watch, it would be Hemlock Society (2013), Apur Panchali (2013) and Chotushkone (2014)
The same year, Parambrata directed a biopic on Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee, titled Abhijaan. The critically and commercially successful film won the Best Film Award at the Anandalok Puraskar 2022. He also won the best director award.
The ever-discerning audience is always on his mind, whether as a producer, director, or actor. Chatterjee is well aware that there has been a fundamental shift in the entertainment industry after the pandemic.
“The bar has been raised. That goes on to explain why a lot of big films are not working. The audience has gotten exposed to a lot of things across the world. It is now difficult to get away by repeating the same writing, stunts, or production value and hoping what worked in 2017 will work now as well,” he said.
He’s always on the hunt for the novel. It’s why he picked the role of a suave cop, Sultan Ahmed in Bengal’s first gangster drama, Shibpur and played a contemporary version of Satyajit Ray’s detective Feluda, in Arindam Sil’s web series Shabaash Feluda.
“If I have to choose three Bengali films of mine that people should watch, it would be Hemlock Society (2013), Apur Panchali (2013) and Chotushkone (2014),” he said. But he added a caveat that these were the choices only at the moment and are bound to change.
In Hemlock Society, Parambrata plays Ananda Kar, a dying doctor who teaches a patient how to overcome suicide. With a hint of swagger reminiscent of Rajesh Khanna’s Anand or Shah Rukh Khan’s Aman Mathur in Kal Ho Na Ho, Ananda is witty and charming.
But any resemblance is purely coincidental. Parambrata brings in his own unique element to the character trope of a dying hero, who wants to help the heroine have a fulfilling life. When he jokes from the deathbed, you feel your eyes well up. That is the sheer power of his performance.
Parambrata’s character in Kaushik Ganguli’s Apur Panchali is refreshingly different. The National Award-winning film explores the life of Subir Banerjee, who had played Apu in Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali (1995), and flits between his past and present, outlining the incidents that led him to finally accept Ray’s film that changed his life. Dressed in a dhoti-kurta, Parambrata plays a quintessential hero, caught between tradition and modernity.
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Language cinema champion
Armed with a Bachelor’s in English Literature from Jadavpur University, followed by a Master’s in film and television production from Bristol University, the actor is often called ‘aantel’, a satirical term given to intellectuals in Bengal.
“I rubbed some people off the wrong way or ended up stepping on people’s shoes, and I think that’s why I still feel under-acknowledged and under-appreciated in Kolkata,” he said in an interview with Film Companion.
But brickbats won’t stop the actor from shining in his craft. For his role in Aranayak, the actor received the Best Supporting Actor award at the HT OTTPLay Awards 2022.
“I have been working for 20 years. Since the last few years, the love I received is really humbling and I have only OTT to thank for that,” Parambrata said while receiving the much-deserved accolade.
He does not temper his opinions on current events or think twice about surfing on the crests of political currents. Just before the 2021 West Bengal assembly election, Parambrata, along with other actors, appeared in a video for the song Nijeder Mawte, Nijeder Gaan. Penned by actor Anirban Bhattacharya, the song was about rejecting BJP’s ‘hate-based politics’.
In 2019, at the India Today Conclave East, he spoke about language cinema. “I would like to raise a simple question, what is the antithesis of regional cinema? Are we implying here that national cinema is Hindi cinema?” He proposed that language cinema is a better term than regional cinema, and also spoke about the unequal distribution of Hindi cinema and language cinema, even within Bengal.
Parambrata’s career speaks for itself, but for those who are still trying to figure him out, insight from senior producer Shabbir Boxwala, who produced the actor’s latest film Awasthi vs Awasthi, is the best starting point.
“Parambrata reminds me of Irrfan Khan. After Irrfan passed away, there has been a void. Parambrata has the potential to fill that void,” he said.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)