Namashi Chakraborty Interview: ‘If I’m a good actor, I’ll compete with every good actor’

Namashi Chakraborty is the latest star kid on the block, who begins his silver screen journey with Rajkumar Santoshi’s comic-caper Bad Boy. The youngest son of well-established Hindi film actors Mithun Chakraborty and Yogeeta Bali, Namashi does not want to box himself into one particular genre and aims to explore as much as possible.

Eastern Eye recently caught up with the young actor and tried to find out more about his film, his favourite genres, the pressure of being Mithun Chakraborty and Yogeeta Bali’s son, and much more. Keep on reading…

Tell us something about your debut film Bad Boy and your character in it.

My character actually is a good boy but the villain of the film, Shashwato Chatterjee, who plays the father to the heroine, is after me in the whole movie. That’s because I keep on troubling him a lot. I tease him. But because the film is about the father-in-law and the would-be son-in-law would be, there are a lot of clashes between the two. It’s a very sweet romantic comedy. That’s the reason it’s named Bad Boy. It’s about a character named Raghu Verma, who is not good at studies nor does he have any aim in his life. He is a vagabond. But when he comes across this girl, who is the exact opposite of what he is, he falls for her. What happens after that is what you see in the film.

This film is a rom-com. What is your favourite genre?

Comedies. I think if you can make anyone laugh, it’s the greatest gift. I am a fan of Govinda and Rajkumar Santoshi’s comedies like Andaz Apna Apna and all those lovely films.

How is it to be Mithun Chakraborty and Yogeeta Bali’s son?

It is hard. But as a person, without sounding very selfish, I think my brother has inspired me in many more ways than my father or even my mother has. I think despite not being necessarily successful, he is still a fighter and I think a person who can fight, despite so many odds, even after fifteen years of his debut, my brother has in a very strange way inspired me to become an actor. So, of course, I wish him better and I hope he gets another shot. He has two releases, by the way, in the next month. One is called Rosh, which is coming to Jio Cinema on the 1^st of May and he also has a theatrical release on the 12^th of May with Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film is called Jogira Sara Ra Ra. So, these are back-to-back releases, Bad Boy, Rosh, and Jogira Sara Ra Ra.

If your brother’s movies hit the right chord with the audience and become successful, will you look at him as a competitor?

I think you are competing with everyone, not just my brother. I think I am competing with everyone from today’s generation. And if you are a good actor, if you are competing with good actors, if you are a bad actor, you are competing with no one. So, if I am a good actor, I will compete with every good actor but if I really don’t know how to work it out then.

Who are the actors that you consider extraordinary in this generation?

I like a lot of them. But I don’t know if it’s this generation because Alia Bhatt has been around for 10 years. I think Alia Bhatt is extraordinary, I love Varun Dhawan, and I am a massive fan of Kangana Ranaut. I think after Nargis Dutt and Nutan, if there is an actress who will be remembered for her craft, strictly her craft, it is Kangana Ranaut. I love Vijay Verma, I love Pankaj Tripathi, and I am a massive fan of Manoj Bajpayee. So, these actors I love but if you ask my favourites, it is Govinda and Shah Rukh Khan. Yes, my father is always there and will be, but I can never look at him as an actor, he is also my father. I love him but individually I would say these two.

Have you watched your mother’s films?

Some of them. I have seen the ones she did with my dad. She is very embarrassed; she is like please turn it off. But she did 110 films. Like Pardey Ke Peeche, etc. She started working when she was 14. My mother started working when she was a child.

Your father has also displayed that flare. How do you look at comedy as an actor? Is it as easy as doing romance, or drama or is it a little more difficult?

Comedy is the hardest thing ever for any actor in the world and in this film, the challenge for me was not only doing comedy, I was doing comedy with Johny Lever. I have a lot of comedy sequences in the film with Johnny Lever, one on one. To match a comedy legend like him, to match Rajji’s madness, I think comedy was more draining than action, drama, and emotion combined. Because comedy requires timing and you either have the flare in you or you don’t. Comedy is tricky there.

Johnny Lever is in the film, how nervous or excited were you about that?

Excited beyond belief. I went and touched his feet. I put my head on his feet. I said, “Johnny Bhai this is a dream come true.” And he is such a lovely co-actor. He was such a lovely co-star. He helped me in every shot and it was a joy working with him.

In promotions, you are being promoted as Mithun Chakraborty’s son. Nobody is talking about your mom; she has done more than 100 films. Why do you think they are not talking about your mom?

It’s not that. It’s because my mom retired 38 years ago. Had my mom been active, you would have definitely mentioned her. I don’t think Esha Deol is known as Dharamji’s (Dharmendra) daughter; she is also Hema Malini’s daughter. Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor are even now Sridevi’s daughters. It’s just that my mom completely vanished from the limelight and she did not want to be in the limelight. So that’s one reason why I think my father is talked about more but I agree with your point, I am also Yogeeta Bali’s son.

Your debut film was supposed to release before the pandemic.

No, no, it was never. We have always planned a 2021 release. Unfortunately, in 2021, theatres were shut and in 2022 January when theatres opened, there were 48 films, pending for release. 48 Fridays were occupied back-to-back. So, we thought if we can wait another year, it will be better for us. So finally, on 28^th April, we have Bad Boy.

There is another name in a way, not directly, you have to live up to, that is your mother’s aunt Geeta Bali. What is your aim as an actor?

The legendary Geeta Bali, who unfortunately we never met. I never met. Absolutely, I think an actor should and any artistes should keep their horizons open and I am ready to take any character in the world. I can even play a woman if I have to. She played a man, so I think we have to stretch ourselves and in today’s times, you can’t only be a good actor, you have to be an interesting actor. There are many good actors who don’t excite people, you have to be interesting.

What makes an actor interesting today? If you see, a lot of good actors are struggling with their films not performing well at the box office post-pandemic. How have you prepared yourself?

I think these are people who are already established so they have a lot. The industry banks on these people to do well. I am a newcomer, I don’t have any pressure of the box office but I definitely have the pressure to do better work and I think in today’s times with web series coming in and so much social media coming in, talent can be tapped even on your phone. There are people who are making lakhs of rupees by making reels. So today the reach to people becomes immense but at the end of the day, an actor’s journey will always be an actor. If you do not stretch yourself, if my father only played Disco Dancer his entire life, he would not survive. He played Krishnan Iyer in Agneepath, he played a Jallad, and he played Rama Krishna Paramhansa. That’s why he could survive 47 years. So, I have inspiration at home.