New Delhi: Growing up in in a Bengali family, in the 'City of Joy' - Kolkata, he had dreams like any other child. But what came as a turning point in his life truly justifies that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself.
Meet Rudrashish Majumder, a man of many talents, compassionate with strong determination, who grew up with the passion to represent the country. From his initial days, Rudrashish was inclined towards cricket. After rigorous training, he played the prestigious CAB league and was all set to represent the country.
But destiny had something else planned for him. Serving the nation for 7 years as an army officer to Bollywood actor, Rudrashish life has been a roller coaster ride.
Alumni of Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), National Defence Academy (NDA) and IMA, he is now pursuing his dream to make it big in the world of cinemas. It is pertinent to note that Rudrashish has worked alongside actor Sushant Singh Rajput in the super-hit movie Chhichhore.
Here's an excerpt from the interview...
Q. What drove you to step into Bollywood?
Rudrashish: It was my passion for being an actor since my childhood that drove me to Bollywood. Actually, I wanted to be a cricketer but I had this thing in me that I wanted be do something for my country, that is when I joined RIMC and the passion for Army grew. While staying in the army, I got an opportunity to perform as a dramatist in front of a huge gathering. It was during my RIMC and NDA days I realized that I was having an artistic side of me as an actor but the platform where I could explore my artistic side was provided by these institutions. From merely joining the battalion drama team to escaping punishments for a few days, I ended up lifting the trophy in NDA. This is how the interest in acting came in. I always knew that I had this artistic side in me but then my passion towards the army is quite a lot, so I kept serving. It was during the later stages of my life in the year 2017, I decided to explore my passion and took the leap of faith. The motivation was self-developed.
Q. Please share your experience of serving the Army and now appearing on silver screen
Rudrashish: My experience in the army was extremely good - had a lot of hard training, been through hardest training be it in NDA, IMA or RIMC. It was adventurous. I walked the Antim Pag and joined the Army as an ordinance officer but went to serve my posting with Sikh light infantry in the Jhangar sector. But then I stepped into the glamour world. I have to fight for myself and every day is all about new challenges and struggle in Bollywood. There has been a lot of struggles initially. I went through 300-400 auditions before bagging Chhichhore. It was Director Nitesh Tiwari who noticed me from my audition and trusted me as an actor. Hence, I eventually became a part of the cast in Chhichhore. I am enjoying being in front of the camera just like I enjoyed in LoC.
Q. On sharing screen space with Sushant Singh Rajput...
Rudrashish: I knew SSR on a professional level as Chichore was my first movie. So on set, I was keen to learn a lot from all the co-actors. I saw Sushant as an active participant who always use to greet back politely. Indeed, he had a very sweet personality. He was energetic and extremely dedicated to his work. Besides shoot, when we got a chance to interact, I realized he had in-depth knowledge about a lot of things.
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Q. Please tell us about your struggle when you shifted from the Army to Bollywood
Rudrashish: I have always been a quick decision-maker when it comes to important decisions, so when I was in the 8th standard, I got the chance to either select RIMC or pursue my cricket which I was really good at, I finally chose RIMC. Thereafter, I got selected in NDA in the year 2007 and after serving as an army officer, I planned to be a part of Bollywood and I took the decision. There was no such struggle I faced from my family or anyone else. Nor did I have any dilemma to choose Bollywood over an army life. I always believe that there is one life and if you have many sides of yourself, you must explore. So I tried and accomplished. One struggling part was that I had to convince my seniors. I got immense support from some seniors especially my commanding officers. They were quite reluctant as I was doing well in the army. But as the interview kept happening, they understood that I have the passion. The army personnel were quite surprised and they respected that I am to start from scratch that too in the world where there is nothing certain.
Q. Your future plans in Bollywood...
Rudrashish: My future plan is to be in the industry and keep working. I am a person who does not plan about the future, whatever I feel is right at the moment, I do that. I will keep trying to make the best use of the opportunity, keep learning and evolving as a human being. Currently, I am working for the movie Jersey, alongside Shahid Kapoor, Kavish Sinha's Hawa Singh and Lost among others.
Rudrashish Majumder now endeavours to play an army officer on-screen.
(Interview by: Chandrakala Choudhury, Senior Journalist)
