Superstars are important for the industry’s ecosystem: Rahul Bose

In an era where content-driven cinema appears to be the dominant force, some might believe that the star system is fading. However, Rahul Bose is clear about his stance. “The star system exists and it should. There should be superstars because when they do well. The entire industry does well. When the apex creature of the jungle does well, that means the jungle is doing well. They are very important for the ecosystem. That’s where the real revenues get generated for an industry,” said Bose, whose spy-thriller ‘Berlin’, directed by Atul Sabharwal, is already generating a lot of noise in international festivals. The film will have its Australian premiere at the 15th edition of the Indian International Film Festival of Melbourne.

A few weeks ago, Bose was in Kolkata filming his Bengali movie ‘Madam Sengupta’, directed by Sayantan Ghosal and featuring Rituparna Sengupta, Ananya Chatterjee, Kaushik Sen and Subrat Dutta. This film marks a reunion for Rahul and Rituparna, who last appeared together in the 2006 film ‘Anuranan’ directed by Aniruddha Roy Choudhury. “Ritu and I have a lot of respect and regard for each other. It’s always warm, affectionate and respectful, which is the way it was this time too,” he said.

Known for his versatility across various types of cinemas, including Bengali, South Indian, Bollywood and English films, ‘Time’ magazine even referred to him as ‘the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema’. His popularity is particularly strong among the intellectual Bengali audience, thanks to his roles in acclaimed films like ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer’, ‘15 Park Avenue’, ‘Kalpurush’, ‘Anuranan’, ‘Antaheen’ and ‘The Japanese Wife’. Recently, he also appeared in Ram Kamal Mukherjee’s ‘Binodinii’.

In ‘Madam Sengupta’, he portrays a character who has lost his idealism over time. As the owner of a newspaper group, his earlier idealistic values have faded, only to be rediscovered towards the film’s conclusion. “I think that a lot of people, as they grow older and richer, completely lose their idealism. He is one of those people who sold out the cause of being close to people in power,” said Bose.

Aside from his acting career, the former rugby player and president of the ‘Indian Rugby Football Union’, is considering a film centered around his favourite sport. However, he is still in search of an ‘amazing’ story to bring to the screen.

However, Bose might return to direction soon. His last directorial was the inspiring film ‘Poorna: Courage Has No Limit’ in 2017. “I have written a new script. At this point in time, it’s gone to two houses to see what they think. So, the project is on board. I hope I will be able to make it, maybe, sometime in the second half of next year,” he said.