Ashiesh Roy to make big screen debut with Raja Natwarlal

Actor Ashiesh Roy, better known for his memorable Bengali character Chatur Ganguly in Jeannie Aur Juju is keeping his fingers crossed as he awaits the release of his debut movie Raja Natwarlal this month. “It’s a big-budget movie, and I am very lucky to be an integral part of it,” says the comic actor, who has a serious role in the film. Interestingly, he plays an actor in the movie. “It’s a con movie, and my con is that I’m an actor who can assume various characters at the drop of a hat. My introduction scene in the film is a howler.” And how did he land the role? “It is an unbelievable story. Out of the blue, I got a call from a person named Abhishek Bhardwaj, who was casting for the movie. When I asked him who gave him my reference, he told me that he had seen me doing a theatre improvisation at our college re-union four years back, and I have been on his mind ever since. How unbelievable is that?” A very popular actor on the small screen, Ashiesh Roy is known for his outstanding character portrayals in innumerable serials – from the charismatic Abhishek in his debut Banegi Apni Baat to playing 64 different characters in Himesh Reshammiya’s Nirma Aha! to playing 75 different roles in Ravi Rai’s Fultoo Pagal Hai to the iconic Anna bhai in Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale to the hyper-ventilating Bengali babu in the recently concluded Jeannie Aur Juju, Ashiesh Roy has always been known for his ability to present distinctly different shades to all his characters. So why did he wait 20 years to fulfill that one dream that every actor comes to Mumbai with – to be seen on the big screen? And in typical Ashiesh mode, he replies, “Because that was not my dream.” Upon being prodded further, the actor explained, “I belong to the old school – the good school, where we were taught that acting is not dependent upon any medium. Acting is acting. The approach, the craft, and the execution remain the same, irrespective of the medium.” But he admits being nervous about his big screen debut. It has not been an easy task pitting skills opposite stalwarts like Emraan Hashmi, Paresh Rawal and K.K.Menon, from whom he says he learned tons of acting nuances every step of the way. Well, we wish this promising actor the very best for his big-screen debut in Raja Natwarlal, which premiers on 29 August (2014).