She is tall and gorgeous. Already a well-known name in Bengal and winner of Bharat Nirman award, she was recently seen as a boxer in the Bollywood flick Saala Khadoos. The sexy lady not only wooed the audience with her performance but also earned national acclaim. She is now gearing up for the film’s Telegu remake. 

Readers, we are talking about the talented actress Mumtaz Sorcar. In an interview with Tellychakkar.com, the Bong beauty talked about her upcoming films, why ‘boxing’ is her lucky charm, the tag of being P C Sorcar’s daughter, her relationship status and more. Read on-   

You made your Bollywood debut with Saala Khadoos, which was simultaneously shot in Tamil and Hindi. And now you are shooting for the Telegu remake of the film. You must be feeling very lucky for being a part of such a sports based film, which gave you national recognition….  

Of course! Not just sports-based film, but the fact that I got to play the character in three different languages is an achievement in itself. I consider myself immensely lucky that I got this opportunity and interestingly, somehow or the other, sports has always been a lucky thing for me. Boxing has always been an integral part of my life, the fact that I was into boxing actually landed me my first break with Pritish Nandy Communication. The film, which, sadly never saw the light of day was being directed by Soumik Sen who would later go on to make Gulab Gang. They cast me in the movie because of my affinity towards sports and boxing. While it did not materialise, I did go on to do Birsa Dasgupta’s 033 and my journey in movies started! 

I guess boxing has been my lucky charm because when I was to foray into Bollywood, it was again boxing which became a medium and now that I was doing the Telegu remake of Saala Khadoos, it is again boxing which is taking me to the South.

Plus, the fact that I know boxing also means I can beat people up (smiles)!

You are also a trained boxer. So, if you were given the option of choosing either your or Ritika Singh’s character, which one would you have chosen?   

Lux any day, because even though Ritika’s character is central to the film, I feel it is Lux who gets to play with a wider range of emotions. Lux has a crazy career graph in the film and essays a variety of emotions. The character is more challenging and also acts as a catalyst in taking the plot forward.

Did you ever get bored of shooting the same film in different languages? 

While we did shoot for the Hindi and Tamil simultaneously, doing the Telegu version has been like a déj?-vu. Sometimes it is a bit weird to do the same things again but then again the script is so real that one can effortlessly slip into the role of the character. 

Furthermore, one has to realise that the audience in the varied parts of India are not the same, so while the larger picture may appear similar there are subtle nuances that keep on changing for the audience from region to region, the interesting bit is comprehend, realise and essay these nuances for the audiences and that makes the role more of a challenge and a wonder to essay.

In between shooting, did you girls (you and Ritika) bond over ‘boxing talk’?

We did and we still do, Ritika and I are like two peas of the pod, and the fact that we are doing the film again in a new language has strengthened our bond as friends as well. 

In Bengal, sports films with woman as the protagonist is hardly made. ‘Koni’, a film on a female swimmer, was made in the 80s and after that we haven’t seen any such film here. What’s your take on this?      

There could be no concrete answer to this. It is interesting that you bring this up, maybe it is a trend which is yet to catch up in the industry, or maybe society at large is still not accepting of the ideas. This is the time for experimentation, there are a lot of wonderful films that are coming up these days which deal with a variety of topics and maybe this is one topic that has not been delved about yet, but there is always time.

Nowadays when I visit sports arenas or training grounds, a lot of times I see that there are more girls and women than boys, so while the women are off winning gold for the country, guys are more interested in going to the parlour and looking good. Times change.

Biopic on Indian players is the flavour of the season. Given a chance, which sportsperson’s character would you like to play and why?  

None actually, everyone has their own story. Each person has their own triumphs and own sorrows, I would rather essay the struggle of them all than just essay one single character. Interestingly, Sudha Kongara could have done a Mary Kom, but she did not, instead she researched on the lives of boxers, spoke to several of them and decided to portray their struggles. The characters in the film are made with everyone in mind.

Tell us about your upcoming Bengali films Teenanko and Raktakarabi…        

Well, Bithin Das’ Teenanko sees me essay the role of Sohini, a young journalist, who has some paranormal experiences and sets on a journey to find its root where she discovers another woman who too became the victim of same supernatural events back in 1965. Everything leads me (Sohini) to discover the tragedy of a woman being accused of witchcraft in 1890. 'Teenanko' is a horror flick that weaves the stories of different women from different times with a series of spine-chilling supernatural occurrences.

As for Roktokorobi, this Amitabh Bhattacharya directorial will see me as Nandini. Nandini is a modern-day bespectacled girl who is more interested in politics and governance rather than fashion. The film is based on Tagore’s most complex work of the same name. It will have music scored by ace music director Debojyoti Mishra, Bengali stage and film actor Kaushik Sen will essay the pivotal role of Bisu Pagol.

Did you have any eerie experience while shooting for Teenanko? 

There was this one sequence while I was shooting with Shankar da (Chakraborty), at the Baruipur Rajbari, when something odd happened. So, we were all on the sets trying to shoot a sequence and we had to keep on retaking the shot because the Dimmer would keep on fluctuating. Now, whoever works in films knows that something like that is not supposed to happen. We had to cut the shot and our director Bithin da asked one of the spot boys to see what was happening, interestingly, there was no one near the Dimmer when this was happening. Bithin da went on to ask a production guy to manage the Dimmer so that we could continue shooting, but as soon as the guy sat down beside it with the intent, the Dimmer burst. We could not continue till the entire shot was re- set up including bringing in a new Dimmer.

There was this other incident, earlier, this was while we were reading from the script of Teenanko in the initial stages, and I do not know if it was the fact that I was getting too much into character or what, but I would sense a solid shadow around me. Now one may argue that it was a figment of my imagination, but considering the fact that my friend in my Mumbai flat felt an eerie sensation and a cold chill running down her spine, while I could sense the shadow, does raise questions.

How does it feel to be called as a Bharat Nirman awardee now? 

It feels great. It feels greater knowing that you have won something that your father has won before you. I am humbled at the gesture and hope to keep their faith alive by doing more good work and contributing to the world of cinema.

Do you feel now that you have come out of your father’s identity and have built your own?

Yes and no. I guess it is a fifty-fifty situation, where indeed I am starting to carve a niche of my own, but what do you do when you are a sapling beneath a mighty Banyan. Let me tell you, it is very difficult. But then again, I love it. It gives me immense pride that I am the daughter of the legendary P C Sorcar and that is one tag I never want to get rid of!  

What are your dream roles and directors?  

Might sound silly, but I want to work with all of them. Each character, each role, and each director brings something unique to the plate and the work of an actor is fulfilled when he or she is able to experience all those unique bits in life. Plus it would be wonderful to have the bragging rights to say that I have worked with all of them! 

Last question….is Mumtaz single? 

Definitely, absolutely, very much single from a very human point of view. However, deep down, I am furthermost in a deep relationship with my ideology, life and work, and that is one relationship that is here to stay.