I am the third generation of actors in my family. Both my grandparents and parents were actively involved in theatre. Although acting runs in my blood, I was keener to pursue sports and was in the football and the cricket teams in school.

But as I grew up I started developing an interest in films. However, it was only after finishing college that I began acting. Those were exciting times for the television industry as a lot of good programmes were being produced then.

So, in 2002 when I was visiting my mother on the sets of a telefilm directed by Phalguni Sanyal in which she was acting, Sanyal asked me if I’d be interested in acting. I decided to take up his offer right there and bagged a role in the telefilm, Laloner Durga.

After that, I took a year off from acting to complete my MBA and in 2004 was offered a negative lead role in Debangshu Sengupta’s telefilm, Bonhishikha. I’d already completed my studies and was working as a stockbroker but decided to give it a shot. This was the biggest turning point as it was one of the most challenging roles that I’ve played to date.

My character in Bonhishikha clicked with the audiences but critics questioned my ability to play a romantic hero. But I was sure I could do both with ease and accepted the role of a romantic hero in Cross Connection in 2009 which proved to be yet another turning point. It was one of the earliest urban Bengali films to do well and younger people connected with it.

While dubbing for Cross Connection, I got a call from director Anjan Dutt. He asked me to wear a dhoti-kurta and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and meet him at a friend’s place. I’d read in a newspaper that he wanted to make Byomkesh Bakshi and realised I was being auditioned for the part once I reached there. He liked my screen test and I landed the role of Byomkesh Bakshi. This proved to be another milestone.

Falling in love and subsequently marrying my girlfriend was also a significant phase for me. My wife has helped me evolve as a person and has taught me a lot about life.

Playing the iconic character of Feluda in Sandip Ray’s Badshahi Angti last year was a childhood dream come true as I got an opportunity to portray my hero.

Now I’m looking forward to director Srijit Mukherji’s film Rajkahini. I intend to reinvent myself as an actor each time I face the camera.

(As told to Treena Mukherjee)