Veteran actor Biswajit Chatterjee recalls the 'healthy competition' in his era, sharing how he, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, and Vinod Khanna once shared a makeup room. He reflected on the simpler days of shooting without vanity vans.
Veteran actor Biswajit Chatterjee took a nostalgic trip down memory lane, recalling his years in the film industry and describing the professional competition among actors of his generation as a “very healthy competition.”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with ANI, Chatterjee reflected on the competitive spirit that existed among actors and said that artistes would appreciate each other’s work while simultaneously striving to outperform one another. “Competition was there. But very healthy competition. We would say, ‘You are doing good acting, but I will perform better than you,’” he recalled.
An Anecdote from Filmistan Studios
The veteran actor also shared an interesting anecdote from his days of shooting at Filmistan Studios, remembering a time when he, along with veteran stars Jeetendra, Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna, had to share a single makeup room. “Once we went to Filmistan, and the make-up rooms were taken by all the heroines. So the production controller came and said, 'There is no make-up room today'. Jeetu (Jeetendra) was doing the make-up down in the hall, a long and big space. Jeetu called me there, ‘Bishwa ji, come here and sit. We will talk,’” he recalled.
“After some time, Dharmendra also came. I heard he was shooting some film. There was no make-up room. Later, Vinod Khanna also came. So, we four heroes sat and did make-up in that one make-up room,” Biswajit added.
'A Different Kind of Life'
The actor further recalled how the working environment in those days was vastly different from what artists experience today, pointing out the absence of vanity vans. “There was no vanity van in those days. There was one moment when I did my makeup under a tree in Filmistan. That was a different kind of life,” he said.
A Storied Career
A veteran figure in the Indian film industry, Biswajit Chatterjee has a slate of Hindi and Bengali films to his credit. His Hindi films include 'Bees Saal Baad', 'Kismat', and 'Night in London', whereas Bengali titles are 'Chowringhee', 'Garh Nasimpur' with Uttam Kumar, and 'Kuheli ', among others. Later in his career, Chatterjee also ventured into filmmaking and direction. His children, actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and Pallavi Chatterjee, are also prominent faces in the Bengali film industry. (ANI)
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