[Assam] Assam cricketer pitches for acting career

[Pradip Kumar Datta]

        Assam cricketer pitches for acting career
- Break in Say Salam India gives Dhubri’s Debabrata Saha Bollywood foothold     BIJOY SHARMA  Telegraph India      Dhubri, April 19: India’s World Cup dream may have died young, but a cricketer-turned-actor from Assam is realising his in Bollywood.
  Debabrata Saha of Dhubri made his celluloid debut in the recently-released Say Salam India, taking his real life passion to reel by essaying the role of an all-rounder in the film based on the lives of four small-town cricketers. 
  “Say Salam India is a big break indeed. I am now seriously focusing on acting in films and television. My mass communication course is nearing completion and I can go into acting full-time,” 24-year-old Debabrata told The Telegraph from Mumbai. 
  So, is it a case of Assam cricket’s loss being Bollywood’s gain?
  Debabrata admits that a career in films and television holds more promise for him than sweating on the pitch, though cricket remains his first love. He has already auditioned for some television soaps and hopes to be selected for a couple of them soon. 
  Born into a family of businessmen — his father passed away seven years ago — the youth from Dhubri has had fairly successful stint in domestic cricket. Starting off as a player for Dhubri Town Club, he went on to play in the district under-17 and under-19 teams. The next break was being drafted into the district seniors’ squad. Some fine performances in the inter-district tournament led to his induction into the state team for the 2001 edition of the C.K. Nayudu Trophy in New Delhi. 
  Debabrata admits cricket has been his passport to a career in acting, just as it was for the more accomplished Salil Ankola of Mumbai. 
  “My experience as a cricketer helped me get the role in Say Salam India. I now realise that anything done sincerely pays off at some time or the other,” he said.
  Debabrata landed the role after the producers of the film placed advertisements in newspapers, seeking young cricketers for roles in the film. He auditioned for a part and was selected along with several others. Although Say Salam India has not been a commercial success, it surely has given this small-town boy a foothold in tinsel town. 
  Like many others who reach Mumbai with stars in their eyes, Debabrata believes stardom is there for the taking if he works hard. “After doing Say Salam India, I realised that I do have some acting skills and can only get better,” he said. “Mine is not a very big role in the film, but I did get the chance to show my talent.”
  Debabrata appears in only three scenes in the first half of the film, but goes on to play an important part in the second. “I am an all-rounder in real life and, as luck would have been, I have reprised the role in reel life, too,” he said. 
  Say Salam India was released to coincide with the World Cup, but India’s shock exit in the first round halted its box-office run. The film features Sanjay Suri, Milind Soman, Shraddha Nigam and Sandhya Mridul.

       
---------------------------------
Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
 Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://assamnet.org/pipermail/assam_assamnet.org/attachments/20070419/10b1b2f5/attachment.html