Shayan Munshi returns to his roots

Shayan Munshi made his debut with Sujoy Ghosh’s Bollywood musical comedy ‘Jhankaar Beats’ in 2003. Alongside actors like Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Suri and Rahul Bose, Shayan held his own. Later, this model-turned-actor was seen in meaningful films like ‘My Brother… Nikhil’, ‘Ahista Ahista’, ‘Unfreedom’ and ‘Morning Walk’. In between, the Kolkata-born actor also returned to his roots with Bengali films like Anjan Dutt's ‘The Bong Connection’, ‘Ekti Tarar Khonje’ and ‘Banshiwala’.

It’s been almost 10 years since Shayan last appeared in a Bengali film, ‘Cross Connection 2’. And now, almost like Andy Sen in ‘The Bong Connection’, Shayan, who also spent years in New York, is once again returning to Bengali cinema with Aniruddha Roy Choudhury’s ‘Dear Maa’, which releases today. The film features Chandan Roy Sanyal, Jaya Ahsan, Saswata Chatterjee and Padmapriya. “I was in New York, doing off-Broadway theatre and independent work. Since I wasn’t really coming back to Kolkata at that time, I didn’t feel the need to pursue or knock on any doors because I had a very full life in New York,” he said.

It’s been three years since Shayan returned to Kolkata and he is now the managing trustee of the Dr Nihar Munsi Eye Foundation, an institute started by his father in 1993. “I don’t think I’ve made a better decision in my life than to come back to Kolkata. It was a very important calling, which I answered,” said Shayan, who moved back after 26 years.

Having seen the glamour world up close, first as a model and then as an actor, Shayan surprised us when he said that he doesn’t miss being in the spotlight. “I like to live in the now. The ‘now’ consumes me more than the past or the future. I like to make the most of wherever I am,” said the ‘Mausam’ actor.

In ‘Dear Maa’, he plays Padmapriya’s husband and has an influential role in the lives of Jaya Ahsan and Chandan Roy Sanyal. “I bring a lot of positive reinforcement into this film and help to make, maybe, some uncomfortable decisions,” he said.

Now that he’s back in Kolkata and working in films again, he was asked if he will actively pursue acting. To this, Shayan, looking dapper as always, smiled and said, “If someone wants to work with me, sure, I’m here to listen. I’m not closing any doors, but I’m not walking out the door and going to find people either.”