I was busy convincing Priyanka: Rahul

As Tollywood���������s IT couple ties the knot today, Rahul Banerjee takes a walk down memory lane to recount how he had a bunch of Cupids playing love games
Was it love at first sight?
It was hate, not love, at first sight. Not so strongly put, it was an emotion bordering on hatred. I had known Priyanka since the ���������Aastha��������� days. For three years we did serials like ���������Aastha���������, ���������Nana Ranger Dinguli��������� and ���������Khela��������� and in each of them, she would invariably play my sister.Priyanka was always very quiet and for someone as vivacious as me, she appeared to be snooty. She too wasn���������t fond of me at all.
Playing brother to Priyanka must have been a tough job...
Not really. That way, we have to act day in, day out with people we aren���������t that fond of. But my dislikes, it seems, aren���������t very strong. The ���������Aastha��������� days were really bad. But soon things started looking up. Pack up for ���������Nana Ranger Dinguli���������, a Ravi Ojha production, would happen late in the night. Priyanka and I were the junior most. So, our shots would be at the fag end, having released everyone else. That way, we got to spend more and more time with each other. We started exchanging storybooks and I had even written the Bengali essays, which Priyanka needed to complete for her Board exams.
How did love blossom?
It was only during ���������Khela��������� that I realized Priyanka was really special. It was two months before hitting the big screen with ���������Chirodini... Tumi Je Amar���������. I realized I couldn���������t not tell her that I was in love, hook, line, and sinker. The moment Priyanka heard me confessing love, she turned me down. But my co-actors were very supportive. Ananyadi and Shahebda, among others, would start praising me out of the blue in front of Priyanka. Not just one, I had a bunch of Cupids playing love games for me.
It must have hurt, when Priyanka turned you down...
No, it didn���������t. I always knew that she would say no. We are two diametrically opposite people. Priyanka is quiet, while I keep pulling others��������� legs. Priyanka loves Harry Potter, while Tenida is my favourite. The match was absurd to think about. But I took a chance. It was becoming a li���������l too difficult not expressing my emotions. I thought even if nothing materializes, it���������s best to confess love.
So, how did Priyanka come around?
It happened gradually. One night, while we were still working in ���������Khela���������, Priyanka called up to say now she���������s ready for a relationship. I couldn���������t sleep all night.
Is it after ���������Chirodini...��������� that you decided to work on more and more films together?
No, that���������s a misconception. I guess, ���������Chirodini...������������������s success was the deciding factor. As actors, we aren���������t in a position to decide on our co-actors. If the director has thought of casting Koel opposite me, he has reasons backing his decision. I cannot tell him, ���������take Priyanka���������. Likewise, Priyanka too cannot dictate terms. If Hiran is cast opposite her, she can���������t refer my name. But producers like our pairing. If the video rights to a film of mine amounts to `X lakh, that of a Rahul-Priyanka film is `X lakh+`5 lakh.
In this industry, openly talking about being in a relationship is rare. But you never belonged to the let���������s-keep-it-under-wraps category...
Two of my role models ��������� Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan ��������� debuted when one was married and the other was close to getting hitched. Hrithik Roshan too got married early on in his career. In no way, am I at par with them, but they���������ve set an example that I didn���������t mind following. Reduced fan following was never a thought crossing my mind and I had the confidence of pulling off what I am.
It���������s thought that Chandrabindoo is yet another factor bringing the two of you close...
I had proposed to Priyanka singing a Chandrabindoo song. Anindyada, Upalda, Chandrilda are not just performers whom I greatly adore, they are family to me. Chandrabindoo, to a great extent, has shaped up my thought process. I would have been a different person had I not heard Chandrabindoo or read Sunil Gangopadhyay.
Wasn���������t it difficult convincing Priyanka���������s family?
I was busy convincing Priyanka! Time is a great healer. It was a tough job, but not impossible. It���������s difficult for Priyanka not to see her parents and the latter not seeing their daughter. It took time, but things are looking up now. Getting better is a natural process.
Will you give up on intimate scenes with other leading ladies, post-marriage?
Not at all. On the contrary, Paoli and I have a couple of intimate scenes in a film, I cannot mention now. Priyanka too plays an artist in a film where she makes clay models by coming in touch with a human body, and getting involved with him. The hero isn���������t yet decided, but I have no objection to her doing any role. When under the arclights, we are transformed souls. Even steamy scenes are done mechanically. We aren���������t dogs, who crave for just another body in the mating season! I have seen a lot of home-makers, whose marital lives aren���������t half as bright as what they appear to be.
What about fans who are heartbroken?
I don���������t know any (laughs). The audience is used to seeing us together. In fact, marriage registrars should actually treat us for the rise in the number of elopement cases, post ���������Chirodini....��������� I don���������t mind a status change. The ���������married��������� tag suits me fine.
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