EXCLUSIVE: Paper actor Rohit Bose Roy speaks on being an outsider, shares how he faced a low phase in his career

Actor Rohit Bose Roy who we saw in shows like Swabhiman and Kis Desh Main Nikla Hoga Chand was a heartthrob of television in his prime and while the future looked bright for the actor, things went haywire when he started doing films, but Rohit stayed strong and bounced back with Kaabil. Now he is exploring the web-space and impressing with his craft. All geared up to bring an interesting story with his next titled Paper (which will feature on the ULLU digital platform), the actor gets into an interesting conversation sharing his journey so far. Read on…

In the web show Paper, we will be seeing you play a very different role, but how is it different from your other roles?

It is not a negative role, everyone has both positive and negative things present in his life. In Paper, my character Abdul sells coconut in a small village. It shows how his journey progresses from there. He has Rs 20000 crores in cash with him, so any actor in Indian would enjoy portraying a role like this. So it was a great journey for me too. 

What was your most special moment while working on this web-series?

While working on this web-series a lot of special moments came by when as an actor I felt that I left the right beat. It was difficult for me because I never thought of myself as a capable actor, I am still learning. In this web-show, I play a Hydrabadi person, so when I spoke, the style, pronunciation, and usage of words were quite appreciated. No matter how much ever you have worked, there is always a memorable moment for every actor. I remember when we were shooting for a jail sequence, I was being badly beaten there, after that scene the unit present there clapped, I don’t know if it was for me or no, but that was a memorable moment for me. 

You had once said in an interview that you have learned a lot of things from your daughter, so till now what are the new things she has taught you?

I have always been very close to my parents, but now that I have a daughter I realize how big and challenging parenting is. Especially when children become teenagers, you get to see very different behavior in them, and that is when the parents need to understand and learn how to talk to their children. I have learned a lot from Kiara, when Mansi and I did 5 short films, Kiara shot them. And it was then that I learned a lot of things from then, and even now learning something continues. 

You started off with television, then you did films and you have now also ventured into the web-space, how was that experience? What difference have you noticed in all these mediums?

A medium doesn’t make any difference, you only have to tweak your performance a little bit. On TV, things happen after talking through them, and in films, the character plays a key role. 

Did you dream of becoming an actor always? How did it all begin?

I had thought since childhood that I will never become an actor, I would see my elder brother Ronit Roy. One of his superhit film’s Jaan Tere Naam had come and I still remember, I went home and told my mother that your son is doing a weird job. I had gone to meet him and he jumped in water wearing shorts. One girl was doing weird things with him, the song was playing… that time I didn’t understand that they were shooting for a song. It was a super hit song called Jab college bandh ho jaaega toh tum apne ghar ko jaaoge. Ronit and Farheen were shooting for this song in a pool, but see how destiny works, it had decided that it would make me also an actor. Ronit never wanted me to become an actor, he wanted me to join civil services. I was very good with studies, but I always say that one shouldn’t do too much planning because our destiny is always planned. When I became an actor I decided to give it my best. 

What ups and downs have you seen in your life? Tell us about your struggles?

I had a very grand entry on television, and people thought I should work in films. That time lots of people would write articles about me and had lots of goods things to say about me. I did great work on television for almost 8-10 years. But when I started doing movies, none of my films worked. When your first film doesn’t work and you are an outsider then no one is interested in supporting you. And I am not saying this with regret, when I had no work I saw an extremely low phase in my life. When your film flops, everyone starts ignoring you. After this, I had stopped getting work. I am always asked that after Shootout At Lokhandwala, people thought I would enter another league, but that did happen. After that when I did television, I couldn’t get the fame I got earlier, after that I did web-series. I have a web-show called Memory with Vikram Bhatt, after that, I got a film called Kaabil. After this film, life came on track again, there was a phase for 2-3 years when nothing was fine, in fact, after Kaabil too I was sitting at home for 6 months. I have seen a lot of ups and downs, but all have been a life lesson. If this wouldn’t have happened I would have not been interested in learning things that I did. 

Written by Nawaz Kochra