I hope to get solid roles: Indraneil Sengupta

Having played two roles — Arnab Bagchi and Milind Dhamji — in Sujoy Ghosh’s thriller Kahaani, actor Indraneil Sengupta sorely missed participating in the promotional campaig, reports Kavita Awaasthi.

Having played two roles — Arnab Bagchi and Milind Dhamji — in Sujoy Ghosh’s thriller Kahaani, actor Indraneil Sengupta sorely missed participating in the promotional campaign. “I wish I could have kept Vidya company while she was promoting the film, but my character had to be a secret because that was the movie’s element of suspense. They couldn’t have me tom-tomming about the role. Had it leaked, it would have killed the film completely. I had to avoid the publicity before the film.”

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This is Indraneil’s second innings in Bollywood. The actor had once worked in TV shows and films like Vikram Bhatt’s 1920 and Mumbai Salsa. But he soon switched to Bengali cinema, where he is a popular star. This time round, he hopes to get a better foothold in Hindi films.

“Everyone wants to do bigger films in Bollywood. And I hope filmmakers who have seen and appreciated my work offer me substantial roles. I hope the acclaim and appreciation I have got for my work generates more work. But I am happy that Bengali cinema has accepted me — currently, it is going through a change. Modern stories are the order of the day. I am enjoying the work I am doing there.”Working with Vidya Balan was quite an experience, says Indraneil. "She is an extremely professional person yet she is friendly and down-to-earth. Seldom do you see women playing pranks and she was a prankster on the sets, tormenting people," he jokes. "She would pretend to be drunk and fall all over the sets, scaring everyone. Thankfully I was never targeted. Perhaps she thought I was a bholu who should be spared."

Kahaani