The backlash against Nikkhil Advani's new Amazon Prime series was loud. Netizens were up in arms about casting Bhuvan Bam, Rohit Saraf, Pratibha Ranta, and Gurfateh Pirzada as the iconic Bengali revolutionaries. It felt like a cultural mismatch to many. But Paoli Dam, who plays Pisima (Nanibala Devi) in the show, isn't dodging the question. She’s calling it what it is: business.
In an exclusive chat with NDTV, Paoli laid bare the economic reality of the industry. "Bombay works in a very different way," she said. "A Bengali actor who is considered saleable in Bengal may not be saleable in Mumbai." She pointed out that South Indian actors command high budgets everywhere because their films generate massive returns. The Bengali industry, she noted, doesn't have that same financial muscle to back its stars in the Mithun Chakraborty-to-Deepika Padukone pipeline. It’s a cold, hard truth that rarely gets spoken so plainly.
But it’s not just about money. Paoli argues that identity shouldn’t dictate casting. She cited Yami Gautam’s role as a Bengali woman in 'Vicky Donor'—a casting choice nobody questioned at the time. "I also played many characters who are not Bengalis," she recalled, mentioning her roles in 'Hate Story' and Tigmanshu Dhulia’s 'The Great Indian Murder'. For her, it’s about the spirit of the language, not the bloodline. "I don’t like stereotyping of things. I like breaking the stereotypes," she said, dismissing the idea that a character must be played by someone from that specific region.
The chemistry on set, according to Paoli, transcended the regional divide. She revealed that the leads had a special coach to guide them, but she also served as a resource for authentic Bengali phrases. "Ice was broken on the very first day. We became a family," she shared, noting they still maintain a WhatsApp group. She praised the four leads as "extremely professional, sincere" and added with a shrug, "Abhi kuch toh log kehenge, logo ka kaam hai kehena" (People will still say something, it’s their job to talk).
Paoli’s path to the role was personal. Nikkhil Advani approached her after watching her performance in 'Machher Jhol'. He had wanted to work with her for years, and finally, the project clicked. The character of Nanibala Devi—Bengal’s first woman state prisoner, who famously posed as the wife of a prisoner in Presidency Jail—was written with Paoli in mind. She didn’t need to reinvent the wheel; she just had to channel the stories her mother and grandmothers told her about the freedom struggle. 'The Revolutionaries' streams on Amazon Prime from September 11.