Anirban Chakrabarti: Five projects in two months! Yes, I am super excited and looking forward to the releases | Exclusive

From Eken Babu to a tribal leader in Khadaan to a mysterious cop in Chaalchitro, Jatayu, and others -- Anirban Chakrabarti has walked a long way in the Bengali entertainment industry. He is undoubtedly one of the busiest Tollywood actors at this moment. Last Christmas, Dev’s Pradhan (streams on Hoichoi) was released. Anirban plays the lead antagonist in the film. But that was last year. This winter, only in December and January, the actor has three films and two web shows scheduled to be dropped.  

Five projects in December and January

During Christmas, two films Khadaan and Pratim D Gupta’s Chaalchitro will release. Along with that, Srijit Mukherji’s Feludar Goyendagiri: Bhuswargo Bhoyonkawr, will also drop on Hoichoi. Anirban plays Jatayu in the series. In January, Along with the release of Eken Babu on the same platform, Joydeep Mukherjee’s film Oporichito will be released. The film also features Ishaa Saha and Ritwick Chakraborty.  

“This is the first time five of my works are scheduled to release in two months,” said an elated Anirban. Interestingly, he plays either the lead or one of the lead character artists in these projects. “That is the best bit. This time, I got an array of characters to play. In the two web shows Eken Babu and Feluda, I play the main character and Jatayu respectively. In Chaalchitro, I am one of the main cops. In Oporichito, I am one of the three main characters. In Khadaan, I play the very interesting role of a tribal leader. It is fascinating to get such a range of characters to perform. For an actor, it is delightful,” he said.  

Also read: Eken Babu, aka Anirban Chakrabarti, shares a heartfelt gratitude, and here is why 

Evidently, Anirban had a very busy 2024. “I worked almost all year. I will have to say the directors and production teams were very kind. They adjusted and accommodated my dates of shooting and dubbing. It is largely because of these people’s effort I could do what I did,” he said.  

Anirban Chakrabarti and Joydeep Mukherjee's camaraderie 

Out of these five projects, two were directed by Joydeep Mukherjee, who is known to be a friend of Anirban. By his own admission, Anirban is, in fact, Joydeep’s ‘favorite actor’. A slightly defensive actor quipped, “Joydeepda only casts me when he thinks I’m the best one for the role. But I just cannot deny that he and I are very close friends. He is like my elder brother. Besides Eken Babu, I worked with him in Dugdugu (Hoichoi), Missing Link (Fridaay), and others. I look up to his ability to foresee a project. He just knows what he wants from the actors. And since he is a strong actor, he directs us very well.” 

Also read: Anirban Chakrabarti, Satyam Bhattacharya, and Loknath Dey in Joydeep Mukherjee’s series 

Interestingly, in his initial days of acting, Anirban’s image was largely associated with Eken Babu owing to the superhit series. “That has changed a lot these days as I worked on many other projects. But I owe a lot to Eken Babu. The love and adulation that I received for the character is unimaginable,” he said.  

Anirban has been a strong theatre actor. However, apart from Mahatma Vs Gandhi for Chetana, the actor has taken a brief break from the stage. “I am not doing any new theatre project right now. I have plans,” he said. Is he planning to direct? “No, acting. I have no immediate plan to direct anything right now,” he said.