He is an ace with a popular face across the silver screen, radio and the telly, and a favourite on the radar as a voiceover artiste, theatre artiste, a model, and a riveting anchor on stage. Mantra aka Puranjit Dasgupta is the flavour of the season, essaying the role of the rather villainous Najib-ud-Daulah in filmmaker Ashutosh Gowarikar’s recent magnum opus, Panipat.
Game changer
“Panipat has been a great learning experience for me,” says Mantra. “The schedule spanned over a year. My character Najib-ud-Daulah was the mastermind behind the iconic battle of Panipat, and I was asked by the director to play it out as deviously as I could. I had not played a character like this before on the big screen, and wanted to strike the right balance by pouring my energies in.” Mantra’s experience in the field of radio in particular held him in great stead. “It is all about the power of communication. Radio teaches you the power of expressing your emotions through your voice when you cannot be seen. Since acting is all about conveying emotions, essaying dialogues in the right vein is as important as body language….
Shilpi Madan for Deccan Herald
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