People who knew him very well recall how his life and his work were always one. No wonder several films got shot in "Anupama". Whether the house gave his popular film Anupama its title or was it the other way around? I never tried to find out, but what I did get to know was that the house constantly filled in as the film set and that his sets, in turn, were always warm and homely. There was little distinction between the personal and the professional space. No wonder the films boasted of great ensemble performances, each actor tuning wonderfully with the other, reflecting the camaraderie they shared off screen as well.
The house had a beautiful coconut palm in the porch, a wonderful seating space. It was a meeting point for intellectual stalwarts, like Ghatak, Kumar Shahani, Harindranath Chattopadhyaya, Rahi Massom Raza, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Gulzar; also all his IPTA associates like Hangal, Utpal Dutt and Balraj Sahni. The place was the adda where they shared tea, talked sports and politics and generated ideas, while Mukherjee played chess like a man possessed, between shoots, while eating, talking, any time. He had three major obsessions in life: cinema, cricket and chess. This close-knit group of creative people also liked their share of fun and laughter. They played pranks, recited nonsense rhymes and sang subversive songs. Railgadi and Nanu ki naani ki nau chali, the two Harindranath Chattopadhyaya poems that were used as songs in Aashirwad were recited here first.