Not only in his ‘Chaya’

For actor Sunita Sengupta life is more than just being Harsh Chaya’s wife reports Ismat Tahseen

MUMBAI: She’s very much your girl-next-door, with her face on many advertisements. That’s petite Sunita Sengupta for you, who is actor Harsh Chaya’s better half. But just being known as his wife is not what the actress is satisfied with. Her new Bengali film  titled ‘Chalo Lets Go’ is ample proof of that.
 
“I’m in love with Bengali cinema,” is her opening line. “So when I received this call to do ‘Chalo...’. I was very thrilled.” Sunita admits that her experience of shooting for ads coupled with things she learnt from Pradeep Sarkar (who shot most of the ads) gave her the boost she needed while facing the lens.  “I will always treasure the experience of working with Pradeep,” she says, a smile lighting up her pretty face. What was also exciting she says, was spending time with the cast of the film, with known names like Barun Chanda, Churni Ganguly, Saswata Chatterjee, and Koneenica Banerjee. 

In the movie the actor plays the role of an NRI who visits India on a holiday with her husband. The film was shot in North Bengal in places like Darjeeling and Kalimpong and in the Garumara jungle. Sunita says, “The temperatures would plummet to freezing intensity. We used to get up at five in the morning as there was no light after three in the afternoon. I think it was much akin to the experience one faces in a boarding school wherein you share and bond with people from different backgrounds,” she says.

Sunita has also appeared in a Marathi film titled ‘Aevdhe Se Adhaal’, which was shown at the Indian Film Festival held in Goa. Her stint with Bollywood started with ‘Dum’ and then the more popular ‘Ramjee Londowale’, which saw her act opposite her husband Harsh. And fate then  handed them a few more offers to work together. “We may not always end up working  opposite each other. And we don’t mind that because we want to work with new people around too,” she says.
    
Ask her if the atmosphere at home is quite charged up with creative discussions and she laughs again. “Oh yes,” she says. “We keep giving each other a lot of suggestions and ideas and we  understand the requirements of the profession. Once Harsh was supposed to play a gay character so I went shopping with him to pick up the right clothes that he would be needing. Similarly, when I had to shoot for ‘Chalo Let’s Go’ I took him shopping as I was to play an NRI character. He was very supportive. I think it’s fortunate that we don’t compete with each other as Harsh is too senior,” she explains.

She also admits Harsh is an unconventional romantic as he does not believe in candlelight dinners and buying flowers. “He loves to give me pleasant surprises,” she ends.

t_ismat@dnaindia.net