EXCL! Tota Roy Choudhury Reveals Why He Didn't 'Bond' With Mimi Chakraborty On Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo Set

Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo OTT Release: There's no greater joy for an artist than to see his/her work receive appreciation from different corners. 2023 was indeed Tota Roy Choudhury's. Fondly known as Tota da in the Bengali film and television industry, the veteran actor showcased his acting prowess and dancing chops in Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani.

Trust me, anybody who has watched RARKPK has nothing but words of praise for Tota Roy Chowdhury. The talented artist, who wooed us with his impeccable performance in Chokher Bali, is the man of the hour, courtesy of his performance in Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer.

Who can ever forget the mesmerizing dance segment featuring Ranveer and Tota in Rocky Aur Rani? It was indeed the highlight of the fim. Tota Roy Choudhary has kickstarted 2024 with a bang as his new series Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo has raked in good viewership on Hoichoi. He is seen as Joyraj Singha, a defense lawyer, who takes up a murder case.

As his new project premiered on OTT, Mr Choudhary interacted with Filmibeat and spoke about the series, working with Mimi Chakraborty and a lot more.

ON HIS HATKE CHARACTER IN ROCKY AUR RANI

"Whenever someone talks about Rocky Aur Rani, the first thing that comes to my mind is Karan Johar. I have to thank Karan sir for trusting me. He decided to cast me based on a self-taped audition that I sent through WhatsApp. He watched the audition and chose me. Later on, when I asked him what made him select me, he quipped- 'Instinct'," Tota proudly said as he talked about his show-stealer scene in Karan Johar directorial.

"A lot of actors from Mumbai would be willing to do roles in his films. It's a career-changing character for me. A lot of male performing artists like dancers, designers, and make-up artists, who opted for a different career and got ridiculed, got in touch with me. They said, 'I portrayed their frustration on screen'. It's not about buying luxury cars, going on vacations in exotic countries but all about touching hearts. This is what defines us as an artist," he said when asked about his popular scene from the film and the response he got from the audience.

ON SAYING YES TO JAHA BOLIBO SHOTTO BOLIBO

Tota da was at his candid best as he spoke from the heart and revealed his criteria for selecting projects. When asked if he took his own sweet time in giving his approval for Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo, he shared an interesting thought.

"Whenever I get a script, I finish reading it and take 24 hours to make my decision," pat came the reply. The Sreemoyee star said that he wanted to essay the character of a lawyer and he didn't think twice when the meaty role was offered to him.

"I believe you cannot plan or calculate when it comes to filmmaking. It's not that I have made 100-percent right decisions but I have been lucky that my instincts were right. When Jaha Bolibo was offered to me, I realised there are two aspects- first, the script is fantastic, and second, I was approached to play the role of a lawyer, something I wanted to do since a long time," he added.

"The character was so well-etched and I realised I need to do the series at any cost. Guess what? This was my first signing after Rocky Aur Rani," he surprised us with the revelation.

ON WORKING WITH MIMI CHAKRABORTY

It's a treat for the audience when two power-packed performers come together for a project. Considering their intense scenes in Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo, we asked if they cracked jokes behind the scenes to light up the environment.

Sharing his experience of working with Mimi Chakraborty, Tota quipped, "Mimi is someone, who impressed everyone with Gaaner Oparey ten years back. The TV show was created by Rituparno Ghosh, who also gave me a career boost twenty years ago with Chokher Bali. We kind of understood where both of us were coming from- Rituparno School of Acting. We both were very serious. She is meticulous about her homework, and so am I. It was a pleasure collaborating with him.

"It was a difficult web series for us as we played the role of lawyers and we had several dialogues and monologues that we had to memorize. We had to deliver the most in the least amount of time," he added.

As an artist, Tota believes in staying true to his character and showcasing the best version on the screen.

"We hardly had any time to crack jokes. I also consciously didn't want to do it as I had a lot of scenes with Mimi. I wanted to keep the intensity alive and energy going so that when we shoot a sequence, the best version comes out. It was only after the show got over, that we interacted and bonded during the promotions. We didn't interact much during the shoot as I wanted to keep it that way," he stated.

Stay tuned for the second part of the interview where Tota da spoke about working in a spin-off based on Chandan Chatterjee and Rocky Randhawa's lives, Sreemoyee 2.

Jaha Bolibo Shotto Bolibo is available for streaming on Hoichoi. It will keep you engaged till the last minute.