Precious films in your DVD collection:

Aftermath — a short movie from Spain about a guy who works in a morgue and how dead bodies are treated there. Pretty gruesome, but the effects are convincing. Attack of the Killer Refrigerator — finally, I got this! It’s a short film about a refrigerator that goes nuts and kills people! Sangharsha, Bidroho, Lathi — my first few films where I worked as a child actor.

Also, an entire series of Satyajit Ray films. I bought a whole bunch of 12 films that was heavy on the pocket and a heavy dose of knowledge as well!

Films you watch on DVD to learn the craft:

I grew up watching Satyajit Ray films and they were a huge learning experience. And I also learnt a lot from Al Pacino... from his Scent of a Woman. I applied his acting pattern in the telefilm Chokher Aloye Dekhechhilem that I shot for recently. Since Al Pacino played a visually challenged character and I too play a visually challenged guy in the film, I tried to do it his way!

Films that have shaped your acting sensibilities:

I can’t talk about one film that has particularly shaped my acting but there’s a film that influenced me while shooting for Royal Bengal Rahasya and that is Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson. The entire film is shot in the remote jungles of Amazon and the actors performed as if they were inhabitants of the jungle. Absolutely inhibition-free! Tried doing so in RBR while shooting in the jungle!

Films on your must-watch list: The Last King of Scotland, Shawshank Redemption, Gladiator and A Wednesday.

A recent film that has left you shaken and stirred:

Inception. We usually forget the dream we see, at most a hazy image remains. But the way they have shown the histrionics of the dream is remarkable!

Films you watch again and again:

Sonar Kella and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam... sounds corny but it’s a romantic attachment!

Films you watch for fun:

I watch films that are entertaining. Romantic comedies like Just Go With It, 50 First Dates, Good Luck Chuck. Or spoofs like the Scary Movie series... they are hilarious. And the so-called Bollywood commercial movies and obviously animated films like Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Wall-E, Hangover and... Andaaz Apna Apna.

Films that act as a stress-buster:

Some of the best stress-busters, with all due respect, are Bengali movies from the Nineties. I catch them often on TV and, trust me, they just switch my mood to jolly good every time! No matter what mood I am in.

How many films do you watch every week?

Thanks to the movie channels, one can now see a movie any time one feels like. I do the same. At least one film every day. But this number increases when I go outdoors. After work, I lock myself up in the hotel room with a hard disk full of films.

As told to Kushali Nag