How does Patol Babu reconcile to the dialogue given to him?
Answers
In Satyajit Ray's short story "Patol Babu, Film Star", Patol Babu is handed over a piece of paper, with his dialogue written on it. When he realises that he merely has to say "Oh!" in the scene, he feels insulted. He goes on to ask Sosanko whether there was more to it. Sosanko responds by saying that actors, whether big or small, considered it lucky to have a speaking part in a Baren Mullick movie. In fact, there were hundreds of actors who were asked to walk past camera, whereas some were given roles to stand in one corner of the set only. According to Sosanko, Patol Babu was lucky to have at least a word to speak in a Baren Mullick film, especially in that one scene where the hero Chanchal Kumar himself does not have any dialogue to deliver.
Patol Babu, being a veteran theatre actor, consoled himself by introspecting the importance of his role. Instead of underestimating his part in the movie, Patol Babu felt that it was more important for him to focus on his role as the pedestrian. To him, acting was an art, and it cannot be fathomed in terms of the number lines an actor is supposed to deliver in a particular scene. Therefore, Patol Babu reconciled to the dialogue given to him and decided to give his best performance for that scene.