Actor Rahul Banerjee, who rose to fame with Chirodini Tumi Je Aaamar and will be seen next in Srijit Mukherjee’s Zulfiqar, has turned author. Yes, you heard it right! The actor will be releasing his book ‘Rahul er Scrapbook’ at the upcoming Kolkata Book Fair. In a telephonic conversation with Tellychakkar.com, the actor talks about his book, favourite authors, what kind of writer he is and more. Excerpts: 

So, now you are an actor-cum-author. How do you feel?

People are already aware of the fact that I write as I have written articles for various newspapers. However, it is not possible for a person to read all the newspapers. Saptarshi Prakashan, who is fond of my writing, asked me to come up with a book. So, the book Rahul er Scrapbook is a compilation of all those articles that I have written till date.

As a child, what was your dream: to be an author or an actor?

As a child, I was always fascinated by authors. I would always be more excited to get a glance of authors like Sunil Gangopadhyay at book fair than meeting an actor. I would get inspired by seeing such authors and wanted to become an author. But I would say stepping into the world of acting was a gradual process as my father was into theatre.

As you are a very busy actor, how do you manage to take time out of your busy schedule and write?   

I am not a writer who would get inspired by sudden flow of thoughts and start scribbling. I get the thrust to write if I have certain deadlines. You give me a topic and a deadline and I am ready with the story. I usually write in the night from 11 to 2.

Rahul, many of our readers would like to know if you write diaries...

I used to write when I was a child but unfortunately, couldn’t continue with the habit. I attempted a few more times to write diaries but never succeeded. If I would have continued with the habit of writing, then those old pages could provide me a glimpse of those days.

It is said that Gen-Y is not that enthusiastic about reading books. Do you think an actor can inspire them to pick up the habit of reading because actors are regarded as role models by their fans and they try to imitate their icons?

I don’t think so because we all are different and our tastes are also different. Even if a fan starts reading just because his idol reads, it would be a temporary thing. He would be able to continue it only if he falls in love with it. I read because I love to read.

You love reading. Please name some authors whose work fascinate you the most.

Shibram Chakraborty, Narayan Gangopadhyay, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Humayun Ahmed, Narendranath Mitra, Manik Bandyopadhyay and Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.  

Last question, do you have any plans to write a fiction novel?

At this moment, I have no such plans, as it would demand a lot of time. However, my next book, a collection of short stories based on love, people and relationships, would be a work of fiction.