Language has proved to be a barrier for actress Deepti Naval: her poor grasp of Bengali means her upcoming film had to be made in Hindi instead.
Bengali director Sanjoy Nag, who has completed Memories In March featuring Naval as a bereaved mother and director-turned-actor Rituparno Ghosh as her dead son's friend, had originally planned the film in Bengali.
But when Naval landed on location in Kolkata her Bengali proved to be more problematic than the team, including Ghosh who has scripted the film anticipated.
Stuck with a linguistic deadlock, director Nag and writer Ghosh decided to change the language of Memories In March for the sake of its leading lady.
"The Bengali language proved to be more problematic than I thought it would be. I thought my performance would suffer if I kept focusing on the lines. Sanjoy and Ritu suggested that we do the film in Hindi.
"Memories in March in Hindi has a bigger audience. It's a film that has to be seen by as many people as possible,' she added.
In the film Naval plays a mother who after her son's sudden death discovers his alternative life.
"I play a woman who doesn't show her emotions to others even when faced with such a terrible tragedy. Rituparno Ghosh is such a fine actor and a truly formidable co-star. I don't think the language would take away from the drama. In fact, I don't play a Bengali woman. I play a woman from Delhi who is an art curator," the actress said.
Naval's deep empathy for her part as the bereaved mother comes from her own past experiences. Personal loss, she says, is a great incentive for an actor.
"I've faced it," she said.
Bengali director Sanjoy Nag, who has completed Memories In March featuring Naval as a bereaved mother and director-turned-actor Rituparno Ghosh as her dead son's friend, had originally planned the film in Bengali.
But when Naval landed on location in Kolkata her Bengali proved to be more problematic than the team, including Ghosh who has scripted the film anticipated.
Stuck with a linguistic deadlock, director Nag and writer Ghosh decided to change the language of Memories In March for the sake of its leading lady.
"The Bengali language proved to be more problematic than I thought it would be. I thought my performance would suffer if I kept focusing on the lines. Sanjoy and Ritu suggested that we do the film in Hindi.
"Memories in March in Hindi has a bigger audience. It's a film that has to be seen by as many people as possible,' she added.
In the film Naval plays a mother who after her son's sudden death discovers his alternative life.
"I play a woman who doesn't show her emotions to others even when faced with such a terrible tragedy. Rituparno Ghosh is such a fine actor and a truly formidable co-star. I don't think the language would take away from the drama. In fact, I don't play a Bengali woman. I play a woman from Delhi who is an art curator," the actress said.
Naval's deep empathy for her part as the bereaved mother comes from her own past experiences. Personal loss, she says, is a great incentive for an actor.
"I've faced it," she said.
