No director could explore a character's inner journey better than Buddhada

National Award-winning Bengali director Buddhadeb Dasgupta, 77, passed away in Kolkata on Thursday. The auteur was best known for his films like Bagh Bahadur, Lal Darja, Kaalpurush and Tahader Katha. Through his critically acclaimed career, he worked with some talented actors, one being Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He was observed in Buddhada's s Hindi language film 'Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa' (2013).

Talking with Bombay Times, Nawaz shared his thoughts on the director. He said, "I was an admirer of dada way before I got an possibility to use him in Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa. I loved Bagh Bahadur, Lal Darja, Kaalpurush, Tahader Katha. Anwar... was perhaps one of is own last films. He was so removed from the commercial gain of cinema. Money didn't drive him. He had an artistic approach to cinema and it's really rare to find that today, where there's so much superficiality. Everything is surface level and external and a way to instant gratification. Directly after we made Anwar... I remember he came to Mumbai and stayed with me to look for distributors for our film. This was 2013 and we couldn't find anyone. No-one bought that film and it couldn't release.

He was extremely dejected and felt disappointed since it was a well-made film that no person showed interest in, while mediocre formula films were for sale like hot cakes. Thankfully OTT is here now now and our film released digitally in 2020 which is seven years later!"

The actor adds, "He was afflicted by the way the world functions. His cinema reflected people's deeper thoughts. No director could explore a character's inner journey much better than Buddhada. His films were character oriented and delved deeper to their psyche. We need that sort of thinking more. His camera work specifically showed his poetic side. The long shots, the trolley work, the detailing... it was all very unique. I feel no person explored my inner journey through a character much better than him."