Actor Raj Bhattacharyya, who has earlier acted in Bengali serials like Deep Jwele Jaai, Aanchol and Hoyto Tomari Jonno, is playing the pivotal role of Dr. Shishir Ray in Aakash Aath’s Ek Maser Sahitya: Daabi.

The novel, Dabi, had been written by renowned Bengali novelist, Premendra Mitra.

Speaking about the story, Raj told TellyChakkar, “It’s a period drama. There is a doctor called Shishir Ray who works at a charitable dispensary in a village. He is not just a doctor but also holds protest rallies for the deprived villagers. He always stands by the villagers and as a result he becomes the eyesore of those who are involved in all the wrong doings and conspiracies. Basically, based on the society of that period, the story shows how during those times people were motivated to fight back against injustice. The content of Dabi is really nice. It also has a sweet love story.”  

Doctor Shishir Ray is a strong personality. So, how did the actor prepare for the role?

Raj shared, “there was nothing as such to prepare. The role is different from what I have played in the mega serials. They sent me the novel. After reading it, I imagined and thought about the things that I was required to. The main area where I had to focus was the language which was a bit complex. Following Premendra Mitra’s novel, the dialogues have been written in Shadhu-Bhasha (a literary variation of the Bengali language). Our director, Manish Ghosh, was very particular about the language. Actually, a novelist writes in a different way. When we deliver the same dialogues for a TV show, sometimes we miss the scanning. But as a team, we are managing well.”

“And the character of Shishir Ray is wonderful. He is an honest, helpful and straightforward man who is not scared of anything. He is a bit arrogant also. By arrogant, I mean he doesn’t spare the person who insults him. I am enjoying this role. Earlier, I have done Ananda Ashram wherein the role was completely different. The best part about literature is every character has a different dimension,” he added.

When questioned where the shoot of this period drama took place, the actor said, “The shoot has taken place at different realistic locations like Raj Ghat in Baruipur, Daabu in Canning, Belgachia Rajbari and Ghosh Bari of Bhawanipur to name a few.”  

In Daabi, Raj has been paired opposite actress Payel Dutta. Notable actors like Phalguni Chatterjee, Rajat Ganguly, and Mahua Bhattacharya are playing key roles here.   

Daabi will start from 1 November, airing every Monday to Saturday at 7 pm.

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