An Interview with the Bengali beauty Rituparna Sengupta

1^st March 2014, Lucknow                   

       Light-eyed Bengali beauty, Rituparna Sengupta, a famous Bollywood and a renowned Bengali actress stole the show as she walked down the ramp in an elegant white clad Chikankari saree for Umair Zafar’s premium collection during a fashion show in the city on March first, Saturday. Umair, a Mumbai based fashion designer who originally hails from Lucknow has designed the costumes for Rituparna in her upcoming movie, Tere Aane Se. I managed to steal a small talk session with the critically acclaimed actress. Her friendly attitude made it easier for me to keep the interview going.

Tell us something about your upcoming movie Tere Aane Se.

Ritu: Tere Aane Se is a love story which deals with a span of thirty years and how the lives of the characters change in these thirty years. It is directed by the famous Bengali director Agnidev Chatterjee and stars Purab Kohli and Hiten Tejwani. The costumes designed by Umair for the movie are beautiful and have a traditional touch to it and changes as the movie travels into spheres of decades.

We’ve heard you have some other bollywood projects lined up.

Ritu:  Yes, I do have a few bollywood films lined up this year. There is Kolkata Junction starring some brilliant actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Kay Kay Menon and Jimmy Shergil. Then there is a film by Hasnain Hyderabadwala of The Train fame.  Extraordi-Naari is another movie I am doing. It revolves around a woman who gets hold of ten girls and trains them for the modelling industry and I am the one playing the role of that woman(smiles).

You have been to Lucknow before. Your encounter with the city?

Ritu: What can I say about Lucknow? I have already said enough. Well Lucknow has always been an inspirational experience for me. I’ve done some good films here, like Mai, Meri Patni,…Aur Woh!  Where I play the role of a housewife along with my co-star Rajpal Yadav who plays the role of a librarian and we had shoots in almost every nooks and corners of the city. Whenever I am in the city, it seems as if I have travelled back to time with beautiful monuments all around, getting that Nawabi touch. It is a place full of love, culture, heritage and I love Lucknow.

And the Lakhnawi food and Chikankari?

Ritu: I am a huge fan of Lucknow’s exotic food. I have been here since two days and I could not get a chance to try the yummy kebabs but I have made it a point to eat some before I leave. I simply die over Tundey ke kebabs. And Chikankari always gives a beautiful flavour of elegance (flaunting her white chikan saree). I am disappointed as I could not shop for some tradional chikan clothes this time but they say,  you should always leave something for next time, so I am dropping my shopping plans for this trip so that I can come back again. All I can say is that Lucknow is simply magical.

Rituparna has always delivered brilliant performances be it Bollywood or Tollywood. I wish her all the success for her forthcoming movie Tere Aane Se.