Coming of Age

With Stree 2 and Vedaa-both of which released on Independence Day-Abhishek Banerjee is finally getting the meaty roles he feels he deserves

- Devarsi Ghosh

Recently, somebody asked Abhishek Banerjee how it was going being an "outsider" in the film industry. The joke referred to the unending discourse over outsiders struggling in nepotistic Bollywood. "I told him this outsider has two films coming out on Independence Day," Banerjee says with a laugh.

In the horror-comedy sequel Stree 2, Banerjee reprises his role as Jana, the protagonist's goofy sidekick. In the action film Vedaa, he plays the chief baddie, a gangster-politician in Uttar Pradesh.

For the Kharagpur-born 39-year-old, who had a humble upbringing in Chennai, followed by decades of struggle through theatre and showbiz, playing pivotal roles of such marked variety in two bigticket theatrical releases is a bewildering new reality.