In Aparna Sen’s The Japanese Wife which clocks 15 years on April 9, Moushumi played the eccentric talkative ‘Pisima’ (father’s sister). Moushumi Chatterjee is undoubtedly a beautiful woman who looks far younger than her age. It was therefore baffling to Moushumi why Aparna Sen cast her as a 80-plus woman in two back-to-back films.
Laughed Moushumi with girlish glee, “You will have to ask Aparna Sen why I was cast as such old women in her films The Japanese Wife and Goynar Baksho. But Irrfan Khan with whom I worked in Shoojit Sircar’s Piku has an explanation.”
In a show of affectionate solidarity Irrfan loudly questioned Aparna for casting Moushumi as older women.
The veteran actress shares, “The incident happened in front of the entire unit. So there’s nothing to hide. There was a scene where I had to play badminton in Piku. I was reluctant. I told the unit that Bengalis are by nature laidback and that they like indoor games like cards, ludo and carrom , preferably with a lot of cushions behind their back, ‘Iss age mein kahaan phansa rahe ho?’ I grumbled. To this Irrfan very sweetly wondered why Aparna Sen casts me as old women. In Aparna’s defence I must say she gave me a chance to prove my versatility. Both her films took me into a world that I didn’t know existed.”
She confesses The Japanese Wife came to her after going to other actresses.
“Aparna asked Raakhee Gulzar and Sharmila Tagore before she asked me to do the role. At first I was reluctant since the character was so alien to me. But I am glad I did the role. It gave me a chance to be someone I had to discover from scratch.”
Moushumi shares, “People saw that Moushumi Chatterjee could play roles of women far older than her. I am thankful to Aparna Sen. I believe Aparna tried other actresses like Jaya Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore and Raakhee Gulzar for the role in The Japanese wife. But it was my destiny to do the role.”
The Japanese Wife was based on Kunal Basu’s book. Japanese actress Chigasu Takaku played the title role in the film, which also starred Rahul Bose Raima Sen and of course Moushumi Chatterjee.
