Who doesn’t know him? He is equally popular in both parts of Bengal. Hailed for giving a new dimension to the Bengali crime-thriller movies, ArindamSil is a versatile actor-turned-director from Kolkata. He visited Bangladesh in 2018 for the purpose of producing a joint-venture film, thought it was not finally rolled on to the floor. This journalist had a chit-chat with him back in 2018. Here is an excerpt of that interview taken over the phone for the readers.

Say something about your transition from acting to directorial venture?

After five years people are still talking about my first film ‘Aborto’. So, now I feel that I was not wrong. Well, at the beginning some people tried to discourage me by saying I was doing well in acting, so it wasn’t necessary to try my luck in direction. Well, there were some others as well who encouraged me and put their faith on me. My wife Shukla was one of them who supported me during those tough times tremendously and my friend KaushikGanguly was there as my strength as well. I faced a lot of obstacles initially and that’s why I had to take some risks. For instance- for my first film I borrowed money on high interest and spent my savings at the same time. Those initial days were not easy. However when even after five years I see people talking about my first film, I feel that my hard work has paid off.

You got a chance to pursue higher studies in the USA. Instead of going there you preferred to be an actor. Where did such passion for acting come from?

Since my childhood I used to read a lot of books and watch movies. However before leaving for U.S. I acted for the first time. My first experience of acting is comparable to the feeling that a tiger gets when it discovers the taste of blood for the first time. Just like a tiger cannot keep itself away from blood after its first prey I could not also avoid my infatuation with acting. From there onwards I never looked back for anything else other than acting.

Many people praise you as a crime-thriller master. Do you have any plan to prove them wrong by showing your dexterity in other genres as well?

The claim that I mostly make crime-thriller movies is not right because my first film ‘Aborto’ was not a crime thriller. Even my much talked-about film ‘Dhananjay’ was not of that genre. So, I have already made films other than suspense thriller and those have been appreciated. The story of my one film differs significantly from other one. Actually I often try to depict our socio-economic and moral situation in my films and strive hard to convey social messages to the audience through my films.

Films are now released online and many people are even making web series using modern technology. Under such circumstances as a producer do you see the future of films in the cinema halls?

Yes, I do think that cinema halls will always be there. But one thing must be remembered that as the screen of cinema halls are bigger in size, the standard of the films that we will make in the future must be that good as well if we want the audience to watch our movies by sitting in the cinema halls.