Usha Banerjee speaks on The Zebras and her journey into Cinema

Usha Banerjee

She starred along with Bollywood actor Sharib Hashmi and Bengali actor Priyanka Sarkar. The Zebras is a film that comments on the aftermath of Artificial Intelligence and how it is impacting the current generations and the ones to come. The story of this film is set in Bengal (the major locations being Chinatown and Canning, apart from hill-station, Sittong).

Usha Banerjee portrayed the character of a documentary photographer in The Zebras and is one of the active participants of this technology. She has previously acted in ‘The Tale of a Santa and his Moth' opposite Pawan Chopra (premiering in Cannes and Melbourne) and ‘Jharokh' (available on Amazon Prime, FOX TV, MX Player). To give a brief introduction, she belongs to the Classical Dance fraternity (Bharatnatyam) and is a trained dancer; however, her purpose is to be an accomplished actor in the global forum. We had a great time conversing with her in Kolkata and here's what she has to say!

1. Share your journey into the world of acting

My Dada (elder brother) Pranab Banerjee introduced me to the world of films perhaps. He has been my mentor who acted as filter and instilled the inclination toward Cinema as a medium. That I would really say was the first step toward acting and there was no turning back from there. It was at a very tender age when I began showing such interest. I was exposed to a lot of World Cinema and Indian Cinema and he acted out as my own film club. And of course, dancing was always there to complement me and turn my eagerness alive. It honed me up as a performer.

2. What drew you to the particular roles and genres you chose in your films?

I choose my roles based on the impact that they are likely to have on the minds of my audiences. And, I prefer the impact to possess a long shelf-life. The characters have to be sensible and at the same time, you cannot prefer playing the good guy in a film. Therefore, I strongly rely on the threshold it may bring to the whole film, if you talk about my character, whatever the genre is.

3. Comment on your preparation for diverse characters

Firstly, I need to be the character and it takes a lot of tolls on your psyche as well as on your body. In order to do so, I prefer reading the screenplay methodically. It really helps me, you know! Moreover, if you talk about Indian Cinema, one cannot really delve deeper into Stanislavski method process as it is barely affordable. It is not! In that case, you need to have the ‘switch off' and ‘switch on' buttons at your disposal. Therefore, I do not prefer leaving everything behind and preparing for a particular character, however, I prioritize certain character traits in my roles; it has helped me a lot. And, if I tend to do it repeatedly, for a shorter span, it becomes a temporal trait in my brain too.

4. How do you stay relevant and evolve in this industry?

I keep myself educated about other things beyond Cinema. Films do not confine themselves to technology, they talk about lives, our surroundings, our context and a lot more things. Therefore, in order to stay relevant, I read a lot; in order to evolve, you need to understand yourself first. There's no Darwin theory behind everything!

5. So, how do you handle public scrutiny then?

See, those who says they do not care about public scrutiny then who are they making their films for! I do care about what people think about my roles and I take them positively, but definitely not very personally. Their importance does not lie beyond my professional improvisation; henceforth, I balance my personal life and professional life well.

6. What social issues or causes are you concerned about?

I am very concerned about anything related to nature; and yes, its creations are a part of it too. So, in a way, I am concerned about plants, animals, human beings, everything. So, in a way, you cannot generalize or put them in brackets. Isn't it?

7. Share an anecdote from the floor of ‘The Zebras'

There have been many interesting anecdotes from the floor. Firstly, shooting in Canning (Bengal) was more than an adventure. It was almost as if the wind was swiping all of us away and I was almost draped in artificial snow (for a shot). It was extremely hostile and tough. Secondly, shooting in Chinatown was quite disturbing. There were continuous interruptions from the policemen plus, it was nothing better than a dark alley. You know the location of Chinatown actually looked like the downtown premises.

8. Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations for your acting career?

To improve, I must say and stay grounded. That's what is more important! And speaking of aspirations, I definitely want to reach to the zenith and I am quite sure if I stay dedicated, the day won't be far. However, to be precise, the West has always been my target! Let's see.