Bengali actress Solanki Roy plays the lead in Srijit Roy's Bishohori which started streaming on Hoichoi on February 14. Solanki speaks at length on the series and her journey as an actress in an interview with IBNS correspondent Souvik Ghosh... Excerpts...

Q. Your recent works are based on dark themes. Is it a conscious approach?

A. It's not a conscious choice of exploring dark-themed projects but somehow disparate offers have been pouring in since Boka Bakshote Bondi followed by Bhaggyolokkhi and now Bishohori. I am really lucky to get these opportunities and be a part of the experimental projects by the respective directors. Boka Bakshote Bondi was an experimental project by Debaloy-da [Debaloy Bhattacharya]; Mainak [Mainak Bhaumik] has completely shifted to a different genre with Bhaggyolokkhi and similarly Srijit-da in Bishohori. So I am fortunate enough to be roped in for risky projects. These have remained completely new experiences for me.

Q. Do you feel the pressure of being a part of experimental projects of the respective directors?

A. It is impossible to honestly ignore the fear of failure. But it was not a conscious thought. What I mostly felt was the excitement to be a part of something new. I feel the pressure when the release date approaches. I am very excited about Bishohori because I have never played a woman who is a kind of detective though not professionally. My character brimming with curiosity actually turns a detective due to a situation and realises after a point that she could solve a murder mystery. 

Q. Are you also curious in real life?

A. Yes, yes. I landed myself in hot water always due to curiosity (laughs). I hope not to get involved in any murder mystery though. But I have always been curious.

Q. Did your curiosity influence your career?

A. Absolutely. My career began because of my curiosity. I gave my first audition as I wanted to know about acting which was not my forte. I wanted to see the world of acting very closely and know the process. I had no idea about how auditions work. I went there out of my curiosity without informing anyone. So it was a kind of audacity on my part. My eagerness to know more has definitely influenced my selection of roles except the one I played in Ichche Nodi [daily soap] which actually fell on my lap. But Kadambini [Prothoma Kadambini, a daily soap] happened due to my curiosity as I was eager to explore playing a character whose age spans beyond 30. I want to explore unknown zones. Curiosity and exploration keep me alive. There is nothing called a mistake but learning.

Q. How did your lack of formal training in acting help you to remain spontaneous?

A. I think there are both pros and cons. It's definitely easier to start with a clean slate because I had no baggage of learning. But the formal training would have helped me pick my choices correctly and handle my craft maturely. It was more of an emotional journey for me. I was not aware of the craft much.

Q. What was your brief from Srijit Roy for Bishohori?

A. Srijit-da had provided a basic idea of [Solanki's character] Rajnandini's background and I developed further. I have been in constant discussion with Srijit-da because ultimately I was enacting the director's vision.

Q. Could you relate to Rajnandini at any level?

A. Yes, Rajnandini is an atheist, logical and someone who speaks bluntly. She is a very strong-willed and intelligent woman so I thought she would be naturally intuitive and curious where I could relate to deeply.

Q. How do you slip into the headspace of a character?

A. It's never a conscious approach. I try to understand the psyche of a character first. It's important for an actor to be empathetic towards his/her character irrespective of how many negative traits it possesses. My journey of entering into the headspace begins on the first day of shoot. My costume, makeup, script and dialogues do the majority of the task.

Q. You have worked on TV extensively. Do you find any similarity between TV and OTT?

A. Both are different as media but I think there is an overlap to some extent in terms of the audience. There is a huge number of people who watch programmes on TV but an audience which watches shows on phones or laptops is silently growing. As a result, a section of the entire audience is watching daily soaps as well as web shows on phones. The technique of shooting might differ but the content of daily soaps and web shows are overlapping at a certain point. The only difference is OTT pulls mostly the young crowd while the older generation is far more comfortable watching content on television.

(Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)