With two of his projects — ‘Looop Lapeta’ (Netflix) and ‘Rocket Boys’ (SonyLIV) — releasing on Friday, Dibyendu Bhattacharya says that a web series is more interesting than a TV soap because of the creative liberty it offers to every character of the narrative that neither TV nor a feature film does.
After graduating from the National School of Drama, Divyendu made his debut in cinema with Mira Nair’s ‘Monsoon Wedding’, followed by roles in ‘Maqbool’, ‘Black Friday’, ‘Dev D.’ and ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal’.
However, Dibyendu Bhattacharya gained visibility, in the recent past through web series such as ‘Criminal Justice’, ‘Delhi Crime’, ‘Jamtara – Sabka Number Ayega’, ‘Lalbazaar’, ‘Mirzapur Season 2’ and ‘Ray’.
Elaborating on his transition, Dibyendu Bhattacharya told IANS: “I think that has everything to do with the creative space. You see, things that you cannot do elaborately in a feature film, you get a chance to do them in a web series. But when it comes to TV serials, from the kind of content made in the recent past, we can see how limited these are as a medium for actors to express themselves.
“I love cinema and theatre. Being a theatre actor and student of NSD, my approach is different and what I have realised is that a web series is like an extended version of a well-made film. That is why it is interesting and actors like us are getting their due.”
The actor is playing an antagonist in the Taapsee Pannu-starrer ‘Looop Lapeta’ and in ‘Rocket Boys’, too, he has a pivotal part to play in the narrative. His ‘Rocket Boys’ character, Raza Mehdi, is an amalgamation of the scientists who worked with Vikram Sarabhai and Homi J. Bhabha.
“Because it is a thriller I cannot talk much about ‘Looop Lapeta’, but I must say that ‘Rocket Boys’ is a story worth waiting for. It is based on the life journeys of Vikram Sarabhai and Dr Homi J. Bhabha, who helped space research and nuclear power in India at a time when technology was not that advanced in our country. It is an entertaining story that also educates,” Bhattacharya said.
Dibyendu Bhattacharya is also simultaneously occupied with the shooting for three new seasons of web series — ‘Undekhi’, ‘Jamtara’ and ‘Khuda Hafiz’.
