Ahijit Ghosh and (above) the boy with Indraneil Sengupta in a still from the film

He adores Sachin Tendulkar and Adam Gilchrist, loves swimming and teeing off. Meet Ahijit ‘Gogol’ Ghosh, a Class VIII student at St. James’ School.

Ask Ahijit what he loved the most about shooting for the just-released Goenda Gogol and he is quick to say “fiddling with a Galaxy Tab that Gogol uses in the film”. “I played a lot of Temple Run and Air Control between shots,” he grins.

Not much of a bibliophile, Ahijit admits to not having read Samaresh Bose’s Sonali Paarer Rohosyo, on which the film is based, or any of the other Gogol adventures. “I’ve seen a few Tintin films but not any of the Harry Potter series. This is my first acting project and I quite liked shooting for the film,” said the boy, who had to go through a series of auditions.

The shoot, said Ahijit, was more like a picnic because he got to shoot with school friends and teachers. “Sequences where Gogol is shown playing football or practising karate were shot on our school campus. We had loads of fun shooting in school,” he recalled.

An average student, Ahijit is a favourite with teachers for his mild manners. “He is a very disciplined child. He keeps a low profile and is happy doing his own thing,” said Joseph Chacko, teacher of English at St. James’ School.

Helping Gogol crack the case on screen is Rai, played by Payel Khatoon, a Class VII student at Kasba Balika Vidyalaya. “I’ve acted in Shobinoy Nibedon on television and appeared in a commercial earlier,” said the girl, who has trained in kathak and Western dance.

“I play Gogol’s friend and assistant who helps him solve the mystery. We had great fun playing pranks on the sets,” she smiled.

Shaheb Chatterjee and Rachana, who play Gogol’s parents in the film, have also grown very fond of the young sleuths. “This is my first role as a father and I quite liked doing it. Rachana is a mother, so I guess she was just playing herself. But both of us are very very fond of Ahijit. He’s done good work and I hope the producers make many more children’s films.”

So, is Gogol an adventure freak in real life as well? “Ma hardly allows me to go out anywhere on my own. So there is little scope of adventure,” he sighs.