Prosenjit Chatterjee explains why he schooled a reporter for asking questions in Bengali: ‘Can’t imagine insulting…’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Prosenjit Chatterjee explains why he schooled a reporter for asking questions in Bengali: ‘Can’t imagine insulting…’")
Prosenjit Chatterjee Photograph: (X)
Ahead of the release of Maalik, Prosenjit issued a long statement about correcting a journalist at the event and asking her not to speak in Bengali. The video clip had gone viral, and the popular actor received a lot of backlash on social media.
One of the most prominent names of Bengali cinema, actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, has responded to backlash over a comment he made during the recent trailer launch event of his latest film, Maalik. On Thursday, ahead of the release of the film, Prosenjit issued a long statement about correcting a journalist at the event and asking her not to speak in Bengali. The video clip had gone viral, and the popular actor received a lot of backlash on social media. Now, Chatterjee has reacted to the incident and issued a statement in Bengali.
Prosenjit Chatterjee issues statement
On his Instagram page, Prosenjit Chatterjee wrote a long note in Bengali, first recounting the said incident and then explaining why he had asked the journalist not to speak in Bengali.
He wrote, “A few days ago, something I said — rather, a single sentence — has spread across social media. I would like to say something about that. I have been working mainly in the Bengali film industry for 42 years. Only in the past few years have I had the chance to work on pan-India projects. In similar lines, I recently attended the trailer launch of a Hindi film that I was a part of at Juhu PVR on July 1."
Chatterjee explained his remark and said, “The film’s director, artists, journalists and others present there were all primarily using English to converse. There, a Bengali journalist asked me a question in Bengali. I have known her for a while and am quite fond of her too. Since most of the people there did not understand Bengali properly, I thought that if I responded in the language, people present there might not understand me."
“That’s why I told her – ‘Why are you asking me in Bengali?’ Only this particular clip has been picked out and is circulating online. As a result, many have been hurt by this. I, too, was hurt and continue to feel hurt. I didn’t gauge the repercussions. I used a few English words and could not explain myself to you. I believe this misunderstanding started from that day. Because I can’t imagine insulting my mother tongue. Bengali is the language of my soul. And the feelings of people from my native place will always matter the most. This thought will continue to exist till my last breath," he also wrote.
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The actor then apologized to his Bengali-speaking fans for hurting their sentiments. “I want to say that I know you have been extremely hurt by my words, and I am sorry for that. That’s all I had to say about what I felt about the incident. Stay well.” Chatterjee signed the statement as ‘Bumba Da’, a monicker that fans have given him over the years.
What is the controversy about
On July 1, at the trailer launch of Maalik, which stars Chatterjee along with Rajkummar Rao and Manushi Chhillar, a Bengali journalist seemingly started asking questions in Bengali to Chatterjee.
The actor, after a point, cut her short and asked, “Why do you need to talk in Bengali?” as the stage also had Rajkummar Rao and other cast and crew of Maalik- all non-Bengali speaking.
After videos of the moment went viral, social media users began trolling the actor for refusing to speak in Bengali.
Prosenjit Chatterjee, a superstar in Bengali cinema, has also dabbled with Hindi film and OTT projects including Jubilee, Shanghai, Scoop, and Khakee The Bengal Chapter. He also continues to do Bengali films.
