I grew up in Kalighat and studied at St Joseph’s and Mary’s School and later at National High School for Boys. When I was young, I was very naughty, even stubborn, but never too demanding or disobedient. Ours was a joint family with eight brothers and sisters and we had loads of fun together. I was an average student in school but I loved sports. I’ve tried my hand at para cricket, football, carrom and yes, I loved our adda sessions. Once on Teachers’ Day, school got over early and all of us decided to go for a film. But I didn’t bother to inform anybody at home about our plans. When my parents saw that I was unusually late, they called up the school authorities. They found out that it was a half-day in school and became very tense. You can imagine what happened when I stepped into the house that day. I was quite a shy kid. In fact, I never thought that one day I’d take up acting as a profession. But I have always looked for recognition and fame in whatever I pursued and that has been my driving force. I struggled for four years in Mumbai to make it big in acting. Those difficult years spent in Mumbai taught me the value of being independent and responsible. I would not have made it this far had it not been for the support of my family, especially my father who has been by my side although I did not toe his line. He was a PWD contractor and always hoped that one day I would earn my place in the sun. As a child, my tutor Subodh Kumar encouraged me a great deal. As an actor my biggest inspiration is Mr Amitabh Bachchan. But as far as I am concerned, I still consider myself a child in this field and am still growing.