Actor Jammy Banerjee has made quite a few heads turn with his stint as an anti-hero in the film Nupur. The Kolkata Mail correspondent Priyanka Dutta caught up with the actor on his acting stint and why he entered this profession. Read on…

When did the acting bug bit you?

Jammy Banerjee- When I was in college, then I started acting. Gradually one thing led to other and I became a stage actor. I joined a local theatre group and did many stage shows with them. But it was my childhood dream to become an actor and hence pursuing my dream was a priority.

You have a career in IT. How difficult is it to handle both your acting and IT career?

Jammy Banerjee- (laughs out loud) This is the only question which I have to answer daily. The question is asked by my friends and relatives on how I manage my time between my job and my passion. Frankly, it is a very tough job to maintain a career in acting with my job. I am a B.Tech engineer and work in multinational company. But I can’t quit my passion. I want to see myself as an established actor in the near future. And to achieve this I know I have to continue my struggle which is both on the physical as well as mental level. Since the last six years I am managing these two things side by side and I hope I can continue to do it.

Tell us about the acting assignments that you have done till now?

Jammy Banerjee- Till now I have worked in a few Bengali movies. I have worked with Raja Sir(Chanda) in films like Beporoya and Girlfriend which will release soon. I have played a small but impactful character in his movies. Apart from that I have worked as a small character artist earlier in Love express and Classroom that was directed by Rajiv Kumar Biswas. I played a small role in these films too. But recently I have worked with director Ranadeep Sarker in his film Nupur as a lead antagonist. The film released this September and two more movies are about to be released. One is “Ami Sudhu Tor Holam” which is directed by Subrata Halder and the other one is “Rani” directed by Rik Basu. Rani is the biggest film I have done till now. So I am just waiting for its release. Apart from that I have done “Mrityughanta” earlier that was directed by Deepak Sanyal in 2016 as an antagonist.

You have acted in a negetive role in Nupur. Why did you opt for a negative role so early in career? Don’t you think it will hamper your career?

Jammy Banerjee- I am struggling in this Bengali industry for the last 8 years and in this time period I have learnt a lot. The whole process is very much clear to me. So if I think that apart from a hero or a positive character, I will not accept anything then that will be the biggest mistake of my life. I am here to become an actor and I have to grab only those opportunities where I can prove my abilities. So being a villain I think there are many things to do in a dark shaded character. And I have tried to do my best in Nupur. And I believe portraying a negative character on screen is very challenging for an actor. So if my directors want me to play a villain, then why I will not play that? And after Nupur people are praising my performance. So I am happy and looking forward for the release of “Rani”. And in terms of career I will rather say that I am doing acting for my passion. When I will earn lot of money from my acting abilities then I will think of making it my career. Otherwise I am happy with my IT profession.

Who inspired you to become an actor?

Jammy Banerjee- There is no such person who has inspired me to become an actor. In my family, I am the first member who has stepped into acting. From childhood I am a big fan of Akshay Kumar and I always want to be like him. So in that case Akshay sir inspired me to become an actor.

You are into making short films. Tell us more about it.

Jammy Banerjee- Yes!! I love to make short films. Earlier I have made “Virus – Not to be my friend” and “Oshomapto”. Two of them were distributed by Pocket Films. Right now I am busy with my new large short “18te72”.The only purpose to make the short films is to keep myself engaged in a project throughout the year which also helps me to groom myself. I have a small team of actors and technicians. We all are just like a family and we work together.

Since you are into making short films, will you make web-series in future?

Jammy Banerjee- Why not. If I will get an opportunity in my future, I will surely make web-series too.

What are your future plans?

Jammy Banerjee- I am in search of better and challenging characters with big names and with a big banner. I am struggling hard to get such roles. I don’t know when I will get that. So till then struggling hard is my only option.

What kind of films do you want to work in?

Jammy Banerjee- I love commercial movies as well as semi commercial movies. So I want to work in both of them. I have worked in films like Nupur and Rani and also worked in a hardcore commercial film Ami Sudhu Tor Holam. So I believe an actor should be flexible for all kind of characters and I also love to follow that way.

You are an outsider when it comes to acting. You have no godfather. Do you feel this has hampered your career or stopped you from bagging projects?

Jammy Banerjee- It is a problem. But I believe in hard work, positive attitude and relationships with people. I have faith on a few people in this industry and for them only I have worked in few films. I am highly obliged to them and without them I couldn’t have made it happen. If I get no projects then I will happily carry on with my IT job.

Do you have a list of directors that you want to work with in Tollywood?

Jammy Banerjee- I am flexible to work with all directors. But my dream is to work with Kaushik Sir(Ganguly) in his project.

Do you want to work in Bollywood too?

Jammy Banerjee- It is beyond my imagination. But if opportunity comes, I will surely try to work.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Jammy Banerjee- My struggle will decide my position in my future. I don’t have any expectation. I want to maintain my passion with my profession and my karma will decide my position in my near future.

We sincerely hope that Jammy has a great future in Tollywood and may he deliver more power oriented roles!!