Sunetro Lahiri: Rising star

Ranchi, March 14: At the age of 19, this city lad is raring to go. After all, a chance to act in a Mira Nair film doesn’t come by easily.

Meet Sunetro Lahiri, who has done a cameo in the highly-acclaimed film The Namesake. He chanced upon meeting the director in Calcutta while jogging at Victoria Memorial and bagged the role after giving a screentest.

He has acted in three films before — The Four Curses, a Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute production, Vidhatri, that was screened at the Nandan Film festival, and a college production.

A resident of Burdwan Compound, Sunetro completed his schooling from St Xavier’s, Doranda. His brush with performing arts started when he first acted in Brahman, a play by Rabindranath Tagore. “After the show, there was no looking back. I developing a liking for the stage and took part in many dance programmes and plays,” he said. However, the biggest turning point for this ex-Xaverian was taking part in the All India Inter-Jesuit Public Speaking Competition at St Xavier’s School, Hazaribagh and the Bournvita Quiz Contest.

A sociology student at St Xavier’s College, Calcutta, the performer has also won laurels for his play Amaranth Symposium at the NLS Drama Festival in Bangalore. He has also worked in Tim Supple’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. According to mother Anulekha, “Dance was a passion for him from the very beginning. It was only later that he developed a love for acting.”

The young actor aspires to become either a journalist or an advertising professional.