Confident of audience's appreciation for his role as the iconic sleuth in "Byomkesh O Chiriakhana", Jisshu Sengupta said his character is not inspired by Uttam Kumar's portrayal in Ray's "Chiriakhana".
"Like most Bengalis, I had watched Satyajit Ray's 'Chiriakhana' and was bowled by Uttam Kumar's magic in it. But I have not watched the film in recent times and will go by my own understanding of Byomkesh Bakshi's character. The new Chiriakhana will stick more to the original Saradindu Bandopadhyay novel than Ray's version," he told PTI here.
"I went through the detective novel again after learning Anjan Dutta cast me in the film. This and my previous experience with him in 'Byomkesh Phire Elo' (Byomkesh Returns) helped me to prepare my own notes for the character who is quintessentially Bengali, sharp and quick-witted," Jisshu said.
On his chemistry with Anjan Dutta, with whom he worked in three films in recent times, Jisshu said, "He never thrusts his opinion on you. He allows you to do your own thing before the camera."
Anjan Dutta, he said, encourages all principal characters before a shot by whispering to him "Eta Tor Scene" (this is your shot) when the co-actors are not present.
"He had done this with me and Saswata Chatterjee (who played the role of Byomkesh's confidante Ajit). He had done this with me and Parambrata Chatterjee in 'Hemanta' too to extract the best from his actors."
Asked about his competition with Abir Chatterjee, who is essaying the same role in another director's film, Jisshu said, "Once I have been accepted by the Bengali audience in one film I know I have broken the jinx."
"Abir and I will have our own share of audiences if the content is good," he added.
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