Actress Swastika Mukherjee, whose character in Paatal Lok is still fresh in people’s minds, is gearing up for the release of another web series, where she says, she plays a role she has never done before. Titled ‘Escaype Live,’ the trailer of the series kept her character under wraps but the actress says that she will be seen as a ‘manipulative’ and ‘ruthless’ woman. An acclaimed name in the Bengali film industry, Mukherjee says that with the advent of OTT, several doors have opened and new opportunities have arrived for actors that were not there before.
The Dil Bechara actress, who is also known for not taking harassment lying down, spoke about her way of dealing with trolls and negativity online, during a candid conversation with News18.com. Excerpts from the interview:
The trailer of Escaype Live keeps your character under wraps. Can you share something about her?
My character will be a surprise for the audience, that’s why we don’t get to see much of her in the trailer. I play the role of Maya who is a businesswoman and the owner of a Chinese restaurant where her employees are mostly young girls. Her story is about her relationship with her employers, the politics, and the chemistry of it all. She is also a woman who is quite manipulative and does a lot of calculations in her head before she even makes a phone call. She’s pretty ruthless.
What made you say yes to this series?
The show is about something that is a part of our lives. It is based on social media influencers, content creators, apps, people who want to become famous, and likes and followers that are our lives nowadays. We can’t exist without looking at our phones or scrolling through social media handles. So it’s a story that everybody will relate to. I get to play a character, which I’ve never done before. It was a surprise for me and I wanted to see whether I can do something this challenging. It really made me push myself and do all kinds of new things in front of the camera.
Celebrities especially women are constantly scrutinised for what they wear and how they conduct themselves whether it’s in public or on social media. You have yourself been subjected to unwanted hate online. How do you deal with it? Does it become frustrating after a point?
I used to get affected earlier when I was new to social media and I was trying how things work. I used to get affected by the negativity and by how people are just unnecessarily nasty and it’s kind of fun to hurl abuses at women without even knowing them. Then I realized that I need to filter the bad and the good, and I will be the person who’s going to choose what will affect me. And I think a lot depends on who we are choosing to follow. We have the option to choose what we want to see, what we want to believe, and whom we want to follow. Who we choose to get influenced by is on us. But yes, we don’t have control over our comments section and our timelines. For us who are in the public domain, it becomes riskier. But now I don’t go and check my comments. If something really doesn’t just come in front of my eyes, I don’t scroll and see what people are talking about.
Do you think with the rise of OTT, talented actors from the regional industries are making their place in the mainstream consciousness, especially with the Hindi vs Regional industry debate going on right now?
Yes, I do believe that is happening and it’s a welcoming change. OTT is giving us the opportunity and the space. It’s not only actors but also writers, content creators, and directors, from regional industries and regional backgrounds coming and working in Bombay. I hail from the Bengali film industry and my colleagues are also doing so much good work in Bollywood. It’s a great time to be working and a huge new world has opened for all of us to showcase our talent and do more good work and push ourselves to become better actors.
Have you ever faced any situation where the Hindi vs Regional ideology of people or audiences has caused a hindrance in your work?
The opportunity only was not there. A film is a different medium. People don’t want to experiment and be innovative or think out of the box. People want to play safe. But on OTT platforms, we have the space where we can experiment with content, we can tell so many different stories, avenues have opened up for actors and for technicians also, to come and create something beautiful because the possibility has arrived now, which was not there.
So it’s also a new world and the new innings for me, I’m still trying to do good work here. We all have our share of struggles and hindrances, but I don’t think that is always subjected to this rift between Regional and Bollywood. You will also need the opportunities that have to happen otherwise, how do you grow?
How have things changed for you after Paatal Lok?
Escaype Live is releasing! I’ve done another show with Disney+ Hotstar and I’m doing another show with them. I’m doing interesting work, which excites me and satisfies me as an actor, helps me grow, and pushes me to do characters that I’ve not done before. A lot of new things are happening in my life post Paatal Lok, so I am looking forward to more things and more good work coming my way.
Coming to the Bengali OTT scene, how far do you think it has come?
I think there’s a lot of work happening on OTT as far as the Bengali language is concerned. Producers are wanting to take risks and tell stories, that maybe would have never seen the light of the day except on OTT platforms. And I have been a part of many such web series in Bengal that have been quite revolutionary, as far as content is concerned. This is a new space for everyone, whether it’s Bombay or Kolkata, or some other industry. I see so much talent on Bengali OTT platforms and we are also getting to see so much content from Bangladesh. And that is an incredible amount of good work that’s happening there- intellectually and creatively. I’ve been fans of so many actors whose work I can get to see now. I’m sure we’ll get to see more good work and I also want to do interesting things in Bengal, things that I’ve not done before.
Going forward, do you plan on shuffling between Bengali and Hindi?
I have really not planned. I’m working in Bombay now so I have to finish whatever I’m doing. And I have some prior commitments in Bengal which also I have to cater to. And let’s see how my shows work, how much people like, and love my performance, and whether my performance stays with them. Then I’ll see whatever happens in life.
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