Quotes from Prosenjit Chatterjee

I go to bed very late. I usually stay up till 2:30 A.M. but am up by seven in the morning.

Everywhere I go today, people talk about Bengali cinema. I completely refuse to accept that Bengali filmmakers are not making good films.

Earlier, people used to say no to regional films, but now people all over the world have started watching Bengali cinema.

In my Bengali films, I am involved with all the promotional activities, release date posters etc.

There were times when 22 of my films would release in a year.

I think, it's important to understand how to release a film.

The Prosenjit-Rituparna jodi is a huge contribution to Bengali cinema as we have delivered several hits.

It is an honour to conduct a masterclass at IFFI.

There is a host of directors - Sujoy Ghosh, Neeraj Pandey, Ashutosh Gowariker, Madhur Bhandarkar, Mani Ratnam and so on - who make some great cinema. I would like to work with them all.

When you are on the host's seat you have to synchronize with so many things.

The memories of shooting in Iceland are amazing.

Technology is a very important part of cinema.

There's a wow factor associated with my name. It could be due to my work as well as my behaviour.

I see a lot of similarity between Bengali and Malayalam films regarding the basic emotions, the craftsmanship, art and performance. I also feel both the industries are very true to their art and culture.

Mithunda is a great actor. He has done all kinds of roles simultaneously and that's no mean feat.

As an actor, I understand how difficult it is to simultaneously do diverse roles like Mithunda has done in 'Guru' and 'MLA Fatakeshto.' That's how much respect I have for him.

I am not cut out for politics. I don't even dream of joining politics.

I came to know about my father joining BJP through the media.

Cinematically, anything like 'Khawto' in Bengali cinema hasn't happened. Yes, you get such films in Hollywood, a few in Bombay. In Bengali literature, you get such stories in the works of Samaresh Basu and Buddhadeb Guha.

As children we had traveled only in cars and led a lavish lifestyle. After father and we parted ways, we had little money to afford even petrol; I used to travel to the Tollygunge studios in the south of the city from our Dumdum home in the north by bus. I would do any role that came my way: hero's friend, or brother, or son, just about anything.

Every year, I have at least one Puja release, but 'Gumnaami' is really special for me. I have come out of my comfort zone for this film. I feel really fortunate to be a part of it.

When a director is remaking a film, he should tweak it, add Bengali sentiments to it and make it look like a regional movie. A copy-paste job is something I don't support at all.

People of Mumbai respect me a lot and they are well aware of my contributions towards the film industry.

There used to be times when I used to be bothered about box office, director, producer, the actress... If those ticks were marked, I used to say 'yes' to a film. Later on, my focus absolutely changed. Now if a character stays with me for two to three nights, I say 'yes' to the film.