I would've regretted not working with Farooq Sheikh: Indraneil Sengupta

New Delhi: Indraneil Sengupta, who shared screen space with Farooq Sheikh in the recently released film, 'Children of War', said he would have regretted if he had missed the chance of working with the veteran actor. Indraneil, a fan of Sheikh's films like 'Katha', 'Bazaar' and 'Chasme Baddoor', said that the experience of working with the late actor was wonderful. "When I got to know that Farooq Sheikh would be part of the film, I was very happy, but now that unfortunately he is not with us, I think it has become more important that I got a chance to work with him. I would have regretted not working

with him," the 39-year-old actor told PTI.

Sengupta played the lead role in the film, which was one of the last films of Sheikh, who died on December 27, 2013. 'Children of War' showcases war atrocities against women during the independence struggle of Bangladesh. Indraneil, who has starred in Bollywood films like, 'Mumbai Salsa' and 'Kahaani' and Bengali films like, 'Angshumaner', 'Chhobi' and 'Autograph', plays the role of a journalist demanding liberation of Bangladesh in the film, directed by Mrityunjay Devvrat.

The actor said that his role was emotionally challenging and took a toll on him. "When I heard the script, I did not realize it would be such a challenge, but when I started working on it, reliving that sorrow, pain and those moments became intense and emotionally challenging," he said, adding that because he shot all his scenes in night, the shooting was also physically strenuous for him.

When asked if Indraneil went for any special preparation for the role, given that the film is set in 1971, he denied, saying that he does not believe living a character for days or months before the start of a movie. "A lot of actors do that, but I beg to differ. I believe in sticking to the script, understanding the vision of the director and doing my character. I have picked a script, which is tight and well- written and the director is reliable," the actor said.

Indraneil, who has been a part of critically-acclaimed films, said that he is open to all kind of genres and would like to do an action film now.

"I don't mind doing serious cinema. In fact if you give me 10 films like 'Children of War' I would happily do it but to balance the films I do, I would like to do a light film now, I would like to do an action film," he said.

Devvrat said the war movie was a story waiting to be told.

"My idea was to impart information to people for them to do further research on their own and make up their minds. I don't want to thrust my opinion on others," said the director, who also wrote the script. Devvrat said the most difficult aspect of making the film was the amount of research that he had to do. "The research was the most difficult part, so was the shooting. Sometimes shooting certain scenes was overwhelming and sad."