Actor recalls journey from Balangir to Bollywood

Bhubaneswar: For Debtosh Darjee, a young artist from the backward Balangir district, making a debut in a big-budget Bollywood movie was no cakewalk. After struggling for 12 years in Mumbai, Debtosh finally landed a break in ‘Judgementall Hai Kya’ starring Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao.

But the journey till this point was full of obstacles.

To sustain himself, he worked as an office boy and also acted in Prithvi Theatre.

Darjee’s journey started in 2007 when he landed in Mumbai to make a career in acting. In Mumbai, he knew only one person, Krushna Chandra Mohapatra, who also hails from Balangir and worked as a technical manager in a company related to film-making.

“Within a very short time, I could foresee the struggle that was going to come my way. Starting from accommodation to arranging a meal a day, nothing was easy. I was 23 then. Luckily, I met another passionate artist from our region, Ghanteswar Guru, who guided me and advised me to go for auditions,” Darjee said.

In the film, Darjee plays the role of a ward boy in an asylum where Kangana is admitted. “I interacted very closely with her. I also played Hanuman, another character in the film, for which director Prakash Kovelamudi selected me,” he said.

On Guru’s advice, he started visiting Prithvi Theatre. “I was doing theatre and going for auditions every single day. The money I was earning used to be over before the end of the month,” he said. “Prithvi Theatre helped me mingle with people from the field of acting and before long I became a part of that group,” he added.

He was selected for ‘Judgementall Hai Kya’ after several rounds of auditions. He was given a green signal after a look test. “I was excited to work with one of the finest actresses of the industry. I got to learn many aspects of acting from her and the others during my shoot overseas and back in India,” Darjee said.