Actor Shaheb Bhattacherjee, who acted in Bengali films like Royal Bengal Rahasya, Khaad and Bheetu, has been roped in to play the role of a footballer in Reshmi Mitra’s upcoming film Baranda.  

At the recent press conference of the film, the actor said that it would be a tribute to his footballer father.

He said, “I am playing a footballer in the film. My character is a mofussil guy who struggles to become a footballer. My father too had to struggle. So, if I manage to play the character convincingly it would be a tribute to my father.”

The actor has earlier played the role of a footballer in the film called Joker. He wittily added that he is glad to not become a footballer since he found the game quite tough.

Baranda is based on the novel by noted writer Moti Nandi and when a film is adopted from a novel, some actors prefer to read the book to get into the skin of the character while some prefer to listen to the director.

So, when Tellychakkar.com asked Shaheb he belongs to which category of actors, he quipped, “I prefer to listen to the director because eventually we won’t be shooting what is written in the book but what the director has thought. We would be working on director’s version so I need to understand what the director wants.”

“I have not read the book. I may read it but after I shoot the film. Now I want to concentrate on the script,” he added.

When quizzed what kind of preparation he would take to play a footballer, he shared, “The film is more about relationship. There won’t be many scenes showing me playing football. So, I won’t have to work hard to hone my skills to become a footballer.”

“My homework would be to work on my body language to make the character believable. I will have to break the structure of a modern guy of typical South Kolkata and then shape it into a mofussil guy. That would be a challenge for me,” he added.

The film also stars ace actors like Bratya Basu and Rituparna Sengupta. 

When asked if he is feeling jittery to act alongside these actors, he said, “I have worked with Bratya da in Double Feluda. On one side is Bratya da, a huge theatre personality and on the other side is Ritu di, who has a plethora of experience. So, it’s quite natural for me to feel a bit intimidated but then coming out of that feeling, I will have to establish my character.”  

Great going, young man!

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