Goutam Ghose slept less to get the haggard look for Majidi’s film

Filmmaker Goutam Ghose is elated after working with Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi; says he has received immense respect from newbies Heeba Shah and Ishaan Khattar.

National Award-winning filmmaker Goutam Ghose, who explores his acting skills only on request, has yet again come in front of the lens for Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s project, Beyond the Clouds. Expressing his satisfaction after working with the Oscars-nominated director, Ghose says, “Majidi is a very competent director; I totally enjoyed working with him. I have seen his previous works also. I hope that I’ve done my best and made my director happy.”

Filmmaker Goutam Ghose stars in Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s film Beyond the Clourds. (Prateek-Choudhury/HT Photo)

Apart from casting veterans like Ghose, Majidi has chosen to work with debutants such as Ishaan Khattar (Shahid Kapoor’s half-brother) and Heeba Shah (daughter of actor Naseeruddin Shah). Ask Ghose about his experience of working with him and he says, “I had scenes with Ishaan, he is very good. There’s lot of energy among the youngsters, so I liked it. Moreover, I received a lot of respect from Majidi, the Iranian crew and of course from the Indian cast and crew and was quite touched by it. I was very hectic shoot but I liked working with them.”

With his roots in theatre, Ghose credits his guru, Prithwish Bhattacharyya for teaching him the nuances of acting. “Everything, be it my voice modulation or body movements,” he says, adding: “In the film, my character is of a common man full of contradictions. He has certain obsessions for people. To prepare for the character, I lost weight and I didn’t sleep much. Because when you sleep less, you get that haggard look. That look was required for the film.”