Meet Chandan Roy Sanyal

Brut India

People know him as Bhopa Swami from 'Aashram', Mikhail from 'Kaminey'… But who is he, really? Chandan Roy Sanyal told Brut his story in his own style.

Transcript

00:00Governments keep coming and going, but the faith remains strong.

00:09The people are crazy.

00:10People stand up and go like this.

00:14They think the character has come on its own.

00:20My name is Chandan Roy Sanyal and you are watching me on Brute.

00:24In my first year of college, I was in Kirodimal College.

00:31After that, I went to Zagir Hussain College.

00:34Delhi University Teachers Association used to strike in the 70s.

00:41When there was a strike, we used to have zero sessions and we used to do drama.

00:46And when I got on the stage in Delhi, people started saying that you act well.

00:52I started enjoying myself on the stage.

00:55And then I got into it.

00:58And then it became a hobby, a passion, a madness, and then a profession.

01:09Where are you going? To Bombay?

01:12Do you want to become Hrithik Roshan Jhanda?

01:13They thought that acting was a hero.

01:17They didn't want me to go because they thought I would lose my life.

01:23Rang De Basanti.

01:24Actually, I had just come to Bombay.

01:26There was an open audition in Mehboob Studio.

01:29I got to know that a film was being made.

01:31I went and auditioned.

01:34And luckily, I got a job.

01:37It was a very small role of Batukeshwar Dutt.

01:40But the experience was very big.

01:41HANEET REHAAN

01:45For Kamine, Haneet Rehaan, who is the casting director of this film,

01:48who has now become a good director himself,

01:51when Haneet Paji called me for this role,

01:54I gave an audition.

01:57And then I disappeared because I was roaming around the world.

02:00Sometimes I was in Australia, sometimes in Sydney, sometimes here, sometimes in Manchester.

02:03I dialed the number from my pay phone and called him.

02:08It was just an email. I didn't have a contact number at that time.

02:12So, I had to give a lot of abuses to Haneet Paji before that.

02:15He was a strange man. I had never seen such an irresponsible actor in my life.

02:18Then Vishal ji wanted me to do this role.

02:20I said, what?

02:21Mikhail Uttaram.

02:24He was a 7-year-old man who wanted to do something.

02:34Mikhail was the symbolism of that ball of energy.

02:40I remember when I was doing that scene, Tophe Bhau Ghophe Bhau,

02:44Amol Gupte was there.

02:45Amol sahib saw me and I kicked him in the door and entered the scene.

02:51I was standing here in the rain and you are playing rock here.

02:55When Amol Gupte saw me, the scene was over.

02:58Amol Gupte asked me, did you make an entry?

03:02I said, what happened, sir?

03:03He said, no, I made an entry in the last scene.

03:06Amir Khan made an entry in front of me.

03:08It was a film by Rakh.

03:12I said, okay.

03:12He said, yes, you made an entry.

03:15You have to hold this energy.

03:17I am standing here in the rain and you are playing rock here.

03:25When I came to the ashram, I was shocked.

03:28I said, what is happening?

03:31I had never thought of this.

03:33He said, what did you do?

03:34You did acting, what did you do?

03:36I am shooting in Jaipur right now.

03:38The public is crazy.

03:40Gopaswami, Jai, people stand like this.

03:44They think the character has come on its own.

03:46For them, I am like a Swami.

03:47Normal people like watchman, vegetable vendor, milk vendor,

03:53who are not on Instagram,

03:55my followers are a cult following.

03:58I go somewhere and find out that Swamiji has come.

04:01People come, Swamiji.

04:02This is how it happens, they talk to me.

04:05I thought, this success is something else.

04:08And in the pandemic, people are writing on social media,

04:12Gopaswami and ashram, etc.

04:13Then I thought, no, this is a very powerful medium

04:17which you cannot ignore.

04:19Now after the ashram, I have got a new energy,

04:23a new zeal, which I am getting, which I am feeling.

04:28I feel that I am beginning again.

04:31I feel I am able to start a new beginning.

04:34And I have to be called for big shows of big directors,

04:38for the main characters.

04:41Which I was not able to do in films.

04:47I have made some short films.

04:50And there is a film, if you are on YouTube,

04:53called Hiroshima.

04:54Then I made a film called Azad.

04:56I want to start my own company,

04:58Chandan Roy Sanyal Pictures.

05:00Where I want to make my kind of films,

05:03which I like to watch,

05:06or the kind of films I want to work in.

Category

Transcript

Recommended