Kolkata fascinates me for its rich art and culture: Amitabh Bachchan at TE3N promotion

Attending a press conference in South City Mall, the Big B said, "I always suggest people, whenever you are depressed, pay a visit to Kolkata. The city has such attractive archaic and Gothic structural buildings that its scenic beauty can anytime make you contented.”

He added, “Calcuttans have a deep fondness for its highly upgraded art and culture, which has time and again became the prime reason, for me to visit Kolkata frequently.”

Also present at the occasion were Ribhu Dasgupta, the director and Sujoy Ghosh, the Creative Producer of the film.
 
Asked about the film and his character as John Biswas in it, Bachchan said, "John Biswas is a typical Anglo Bengali. To hold this character, we had to do many research works on the Anglo Indian culture and the Middle class society of the early nineteenth century, visiting different places and assimilating several experiences, not only in Kolkata but also outside it.”

Bachchan said that he had to undertake scooter riding lessons and practised at the wee hours in Maidan area of Kolkata, to avoid paparazzi.

"As part of the role I had to take an enormous effort in learning scooter ridding. I used to practice everyday early in the morning in the vacant grounds of Maidan, when no one used to come," the veteran actor added.

TE3N is an emotional thriller in which besides Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan and  Nawazuddin Siddiqui also play pivotal roles. 

Talking about his co-stars, Big B added, “Most of the part of the film involves light and natural acting, and in this regard Nawaz and Vidya have almost achieved perfection. I am privileged to work with such exceptional and fresh talents like them.”

Asked why Kolkata was chosen as the setting for most of his films, Sujoy Ghosh said, “Location is an organic part of the film, and Kolkata being my homeland, I have almost gained a master degree in memorizing it, where I can easily exploit a situation turning it into a thriller or something ludicrous, it's always comfortable for me.”

Asked about the title, Ribhu Dasgupta said, “There is a big clue in the title, something intensely related with the film, which would not be incomprehensible after you see it.”

“The film is purely a work of fiction with no relation to any real life incidents, as yet,” he added.

TE3N is the emotionally explosive journey of three people John Biswas (Amitabh Bachchan), Father Martin Das (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and Sarita Sarkar (Vidya Balan), who find their fates intertwined in their quest for justice and redemption. 

 

Scripted by Suresh Nair and Bijesh Jayarajan, with dialogues by Ritesh Shah, the film has a stellar crew behind the scenes with cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray, music by Clinton Cerejo and action/stunts by Sham Kaushal.

The film is slated to be released on June 10, 2016.



(Reporting by Aninnya Sarkar, Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)