Do you miss Kolkata?
Yes, I do miss Kolkata. I have been there for the shooting of my movies always. It just gives me that old-school kind of feel and also my father is from Puncha in Purulia. So it reminds me always of those days when I would come for my summer vacations there.
How did you spend Durga Puja this year?
Well, I didn’t get to celebrate Durga Puja at all because I was at home and there was nothing happening in Bombay. So didn’t do anything at all but I used to keep watching these stories of various Bengali people from Kolkata and how they were celebrating full-on and I used to think why is it not happening in Bombay.
When will we see you again in a Bengali film?
You can soon see me in a Bengali series called Sleepers Cell which is directed by Anshuman Pratyush who also directed my last Bengali film Panther. I am playing the central character of a cop in it. It will be coming out this November and promotions will start now. But movies I don’t know because I am juggling between so many languages right now.
What’s the last Bengali film you saw?
Well, I think the last Bengali film I saw was my own movie ‘Royal Bengal Tiger’.
Are you in contact with Bengali actors in Kolkata regularly?
I do speak to Jeet sir sometimes. Abir (Chatterjee) maybe once in a while, we wish each other on our birthdays.
What’s the one thing Tollywood in Kolkata lacks?
I think the one thing that lacks maybe is slightly laid back, perhaps that could change.
How you handled the stress during pandemic? We heard Buddhist chants helped you a lot.
During the pandemic actually, I was not that badly affected mentally because I have been practicing this Buddhism for the last six to seven years and that keeps me going through ups and downs. For me, I can be peaceful even if I were to be locked up in a house for three months. But yes, Buddhist chanting ‘Nam myoho renge kyo’ and practicing it fully has really made me grow as a person and find a lot of strength, peace, and happiness.
How do you manage to stay away from the parties, glitz, and fast life of showbiz?
I am the most nonsocial person you will come across when it comes to parties and all of that. I hardly go anywhere. My whole life is all about shooting, coming back home, being with my four pugs, chanting and going and doing my workout. I have always been away from everything. I don’t really judge people who are doing whatever they have to do like partying or whatever and on about drugs, I can only speak for myself that I have always been away from it. I think I hate it actually. I really really feel disgusted. That’s my thing. I simply can’t stand it. But I can’t speak for other people and what they do.
How do you handle trolls online?
I really don’t have to handle any troll. All I do is just is delete and block and don’t invest my energy in it because the more I will invest my energy into something that’s negative it will grow. So I just delete and block. That’s my only way. But yes, if I see there’s a lot of criticism coming on a post or tweet then I just avoid the confrontation. I learn from it, I don’t repeat the mistake and I just delete that particular post or tweet.
How was your experience of sharing screen with Kiccha Sudeep?
I am really fortunate to work in a film with Kichcha Sudeep sir because he’s a superb actor, a superstar like a really huge star in South films. People are literally crazy about him. I was in fact a huge fan of him when I saw the movie called ‘Run’ which he did in Hindi. I was so curious to know who’s this actor? He’s really good. That’s when I had seen him first, not a South film. It was great working with him. You learn very little little things when you see him. He knows everything, he knows things about every department with so many years of experience. Yes, I did come out learning a lot from him.
