Abir Chatterjee opens up about his journey as an actor, failed cricket dreams and how television elevated him

Hailing from a family of theatre and television actors, Abir Chatterjee followed in the footsteps of his parents, Falguni and Rumki Chatterjee, but had to give up on his dream of representing India in cricket.

The 43-year-old actor, who is one of the top talents in the Bengali industry currently, made his acting debut with Robibar Bikelbela, directed by Amit Dutta. But it wasn’t until 2009 that he landed a lead role, with Cross Connection.

Abir, one of the four guests in Connected to India’s special interview series ahead of Durga Puja 2024, told renowned film critic and host Shoma A Chatterji that he wasn’t as serious about acting back then as he is today.

The actor also spoke about his love for television, where he works as an anchor in the popular Zee Bangla Sa Re Ga Ma Pa show. Abir says that the gig was offered to him right after the Covid pandemic and he took it up based on instinct, as he felt it would help him reach out to more people.

Abir says his guess was right, and he has received encouraging feedback from people. The actor also spoke about his various roles and his favourite directors in his two-decade-long career.

Watch the full interview here.