Actress Paallavii Chatterjee has a small yet significant role in Nikkhil Advani’s recently released series The Revolutionaries, and she had a fulfilling experience playing the character of Beena Kaki.

Sharing more about her experience, she says, “I was really interested in working with  Nikkhil Advani and Emmay Productions. In the past few years, what they have made in the OTT space is remarkable, and I didn’t want to miss that opportunity. My character, Beena Kaki, is small, but I would say very significant. I was called to their office for the look test and to do our lines with everyone. After receiving the script, I went through the lines and body language on my own and did my lines with the assistant directors before the shoot. That was my preparation for the role. Beena Kaki, in short, is bubbly, proud, and desperately trying to get her niece married into a big family, while portraying that we are no less.”

The series is based on the non-fiction book Revolutionaries: The Other Story Of How India Won Its Freedom by Sanjeev Sanyal. Paallavii, who hails from West Bengal, has a lot of knowledge about Bengali revolutionaries. She adds, “I am from Kolkata, so we have been brought up hearing about Rashbehari Bose, Netaji, Binoy Badal Dinesh, Khudiram and many more. Even in school, we have read about them. Incidentally, I had also acted as Subhash Chandra Bose’s Masi in Gumnami, directed by Srijit Mukherji, in Bengali. So the subject is very close to my heart. There are so many stories to be told, and the kind of sacrifices the freedom fighters and their families made for our freedom and independence is unbelievable.”

Sharing further about the talented director-producer Nikkhil Advani, she says, “He knows exactly what he wants from an actor and a scene. So, he doesn’t go round and round shooting one shot over and over again, wasting time, energy and money. Also, something I noticed is that he doesn’t leave the set and literally goes without food or chatting until the shoot is done. It’s a huge thing, and one should learn from him. That shows his dedication towards the craft.”

The Revolutionaries has young actors like Pratibha Ranta, Bhuvan Bam, Rohit Saraf, among others. And Paallavii has all good things to say about them. She says, “The kind of talented actors and creative people we have now, I feel I have to unlearn all that I have done in so many years to learn afresh. I look forward to some good characters and to working with good directors, production houses and actors comprising some great talent.”