In Mumbai, not only do television stars enjoy immense popularity but a few of them also earn more than their Bollywood counterparts. Back home, the scene isn’t the same. However, Yash Dasgupta is an exception. The actor made his Bengali television debut with Bojhena Se Bojhena (2013-2016), and today is a household name. His character, Aranya Singha Roy, in the show still enjoys popularity among girls and housewives. Naturally, that makes Yash hopeful about his fans watching his debut Bengali film. “I am happy that I have such a huge fan following despite having done only one Bengali show. Aranya Singha Roy continues to enjoy popularity,” he chuckles.
Interestingly, there have been quite a few actors in Bollywood such as Shah Rukh Khan, Vidya Balan, Sushant Singh Rajpuit and Ayushmann Khurrana, who started with television and then made it big in films. However, Yash is one of the few actors from Bengali television industry, who has managed to get the perfect launch pad for making film debut. The actor has been roped in by one of the biggest production houses in Kolkata for its Durga Puja release, which is being directed by Birsa Dasgupta. Yash knows that a lot is riding on him, but that doesn’t make him anxious. In fact, he is happy that the film’s songs have become a hit with the audience.
Before doing Bengali television, Yash was seen in Hindi television shows such as Bandini, Basera, Na Aana Is Des Laado, and Adaalat. Yash says that during that time one of his friend joined Punjabi films. That prompted Yash to look for an opportunity in Bengali film and television. “I started watching Bengali films. I watched several films of Dev. Soon, I got an offer for Bojhena Se Bojhena,” says Yash, who grew up in different cities because of his parents’ transferable jobs.
The actor was also keen on doing Bengali films, but given that he had problems with his Bengali diction, he decided to brush up his Bengali before foraying into films. “The best thing about Aranya Singha Roy’s character was that he could speak in English whenever he wanted to. So, whenever I found difficulty in pronouncing a Bengali word, I replaced it with an English word on the show. But now, I can speak chaste Bengali,” smiles Yash, who will be seen playing a gangster in his debut film.
Yash says that his character Guru in the film is introvert, much like the one he played on television. However, things change once Guru falls in love with a girl (Mimi Chakraborty). The film has been extensively shot in Istanbul and unfortunately the crew was left stranded during an attempted military coup in Turkey. “Guru’s character has three different shades. The audience will also get to watch various shades of Yash through Guru,” he says.
In the last few years, most newcomers in Bengali cinema have been launched in remakes. But Yash is happy that he is entering filmdom with original content. In fact, it was Yash, who approached the producers with the idea. “I am not against remakes but if I have to work in remakes, it should be better than the original one. I am glad that I am starting off with an original subject. I have been involved with the film since the scripting stage,” he says.
Watch the trailer of Gangster here:
Ask him if he will go back to television again, and he smilingly says, “If my films don’t do well, then I will do TV. I want to concentrate on films right now. Since I have done TV, I can never disown the medium. In fact, whatever I am today is because of television,” he signs off.
