Exclusive! Abhishek Banerjee on not getting credit for Rang De Basanti: People think I struggled to be an actor, it wasn’t the case

Abhishek Banerjee is making headlines since his show Paatal Lok and character Hathoda Tyagi turns two. Not many remember that this actor was first seen in Aamir Khan-Siddharth’s film Rang De Basanti. He has not been credited for the movie, mainly because Abhishek had a cameo performance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s film, which has become iconic since its release.

We asked Abhishek what it was like since we haven’t seen him on Rang De Basanti events even if he is a known actor now, especially on OTT. We also asked him if he got recognition from the movie and Abhishek shared, “Not at all. It was just a blink-and-miss role. I never call it my debut either. The role happened to me while I was doing theatre during my college days. A senior asked us to join the film because they wanted some students.”

“I am already a huge Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra fan since Aks. The film had talents like Amitabh Bachchan and Manoj Bajpayee. So, I was blown away with it. All the actors, including Revathi and Raveena Tandon, performed so well. For me, that was a cult in my growing-up years. So, I was really happy to work with ROMP,” the actor added.

“I received my first ever salary for that role - Rs. 1,500. I remember donating Rs. 500 to God, giving the other Rs. 500 to mom and partying for the remaining Rs. 500. That was the only thing I wanted from the film,” Abhishek recalled while talking about his happy days which are often confused as his struggling times.

Abhishek was seen in various cameo performances. He shared, “People like the theatre's guard would recognize me but the role obviously never transformed into work and I didn't even expect it. Years later, when I got famous, people thought I struggled to become an actor. That wasn't the case. I did cameos like No One Killed Jessica, Dev D, Bombay Talkies, Go Goa Gone.”

Raj & DK didn’t even remember that Abhishek was a part of Go Goa Gone when he was cast in Stree, which was the movie that brought Abhishek in the limelight.

“I'm a huge fan of Raj & DK. I didn't expect them to also give me a role in Stree because I would perform in Go Goa Gone. They didn't even remember me. The scene has become quite famous but I never expected them to remember it,” Abhishek reminisced.

Sharing that he considers Stree his debut movie, the actor said, “These were the learning experiences for me because I never went to FTI because my father wouldn't allow it. I'm so happy to have Rang De Basanti as my debut. However, I got nominated for best debut award for Stree. So, I consider that film my debut.”

We asked Abhishek why his father would object to him studying in FTII and he stated, “He's from the paramilitary. On top of that, I'm my parents' only child. So, talking about acting in such a household is a big deal. They wanted me to be an engineer. I used to secretly pursue my passion for acting. I've been a huge fan of Mr. Bachchan. I joined his college and learned theatre there. That place changed me - it helped me understand politics among other things.”

Divyendu Sharma, Ali Abbas Zafar, Himanshu, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub are Abhishek’s seniors. Calling them his ‘gang’, this actor said that he keeps meeting Divyendu and ‘Ali bhai’ since they stay in his building. “Whenever I'm confused about a project, I call up one of my seniors,” he signed off.