The move from Tollywood to Bollywood took him well over a decade, but finally things seem to be looking up for Kolkata-based actor Jisshu Sengupta. After a brief appearance in Anurag Basu’s Barfi and a cameo in Pradeep Sarkar’s Mardaani, Sengupta is currently busy with Shoojit Sircar’s Piku, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Irrfan and Deepika Padukone. “I play Deepika’s friend. It’s a small and sweet role and it’s amazing to be on the sets with such a talented cast. I am a huge fan of Irrfan so it’s like sharing space with one of my screen gods,” he says.
Bollywood had been on Sengupta’s mind for a while, but the road leading to it wasn’t easy. He is quick to veer away from controversies – be it about turning down films such as Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani or the Bengali laughathon Bhooter Bhobishyot that turned out as monster hits, to reports of his role in Mardaani being chopped. “A lot of the film was re-shot,” he says about the latter, adding, “but they did give me a guest appearance credit and I am fine with that. I would be lying if I said I am not eyeing meatier roles in Bollywood, but I am a happy person. I don’t over-think things or strategise.” – Agency
