Filmmaker Karan Johar’s upcoming directorial Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is all set to hit the theatres this Friday (July 28). It has emerged as one of the most highly anticipated films of the year with its music, nostalgic quotient and costumes grabbing the attention of many. The trailer generated quite a buzz among fans too. However, Johar’s portrayal of a Bengali family seemed to have irked a few who took to social media to express their opinions. One particular scene that has come under scrutiny is where Ranveer Singh’s Rocky mistakes a portrait of Ranbindranath Tagore as Rani’s ‘dadaji’.
In an exclusive chat with News18, Bangla actor Churni Ganguly, who plays Rani’s mother in the film, defends the clichés pertaining to a Bengali household portrayed in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Reacting to the scene in question, she states, “There are certain events that have gradually crept into the Bengali system but if you want to project a family as quintessentially Bengali, you need to include these things. I think that things like Ranveer’s character addressing Rabindranath Tagore as dadaji worked well for us. Portraits of Tagore are something you see in many Bengali houses.”
She goes on to add, “When you’ve to project a Bengali family, you need to refer to certain stereotypes. These aren’t even stereotypes. According to me, it’s all essentially ‘very Bengali’. We still don’t wear lehengas at our weddings; we’ve still stuck to our sarees.”
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani marks Ganguly’s Bollywood debut and the first collaboration between her and Johar. Sharing her experience of working with him, she tells us, “The one thing that I found out was that Karan isn’t one of those people who sits at the monitor and directs his actors. He was a very active director on the floor. When we exchanged numbers, he told me that if there’s anything about the character that I needed to discuss be it any questions or the prep, I should talk to him immediately.”
Ganguly also lauds the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016) and Student Of The Year (2012) maker for being open to his actors’ inputs as she says, “I even suggested some changes in the dialogues and he incorporated them and was very open to suggestions.” What has further stayed back with her is the fact that he conveys the essence of the scenes to his actors in a rather unique way. “When we were on the floor, he enacted scenes for us. I told him that he should have become an actor because he acts so well. He was always eager to perform. That was a running joke on the set. It was a very good experience and we enjoyed the shoot,” Ganguly recalls.
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani also provided her with the opportunity to share screen space with veteran actors, Jaya Bachchan and Dharmendra. “I’ve scenes with Jaya ji and Dharam ji too. Jaya ji was very proud of the fact that we were a part of the project,” she shares. Speaking about how she bonded with Bachchan, Ganguly says, “When we first met on the sets, she told everyone to be aware of us because we’re well-known in Bengal (laughs)! We did strike up a conversation about Kolkata and her experiences in the city.”
And what about Dharmendra? “Dharam ji was also very warm towards me. He held my hand and said that I’ve a great personality. He told me that he has a lot of friends from Bengal and that he’s very attached to them. He recited some beautiful shaayaris that he had written. He still remembered them. He has such a wonderful memory!” states Ganguly.
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