Exclusive! Ranojoy Bishnu: I am moving on and right now I am very busy with my work

After dating for years, Ranojoy Bishnu and Sohini Sarkar have recently parted ways. Both of them maintained a dignified silence on their breakup while moving on with their works. After working in Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ranojoy’s second Bollywood outing Vidhaan is all set to release. In the film, the actor is seen as a gay man, who falls in love with a male sex worker. In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Ranojoy shares his experience of working as a queer person and his television work. He also touches upon his emotional crisis after his separation from actress Sohini. 

Talking about playing a queer character, Ranojoy says that it wasn’t easy for him at all. “I am a straight person and I had no reference of falling for a man. Moreover, I come from the small town of Madhyamgram, West Bengal, where homosexuality is still considered an abnormality. It is even taboo to talk about it openly even today. My perception started changing after I joined the film industry. I met friends, who are not straight people. I started becoming more sensitive. Hence, when I got the character, I spoke with my gay friends to understand their romance and emotion,” says the actor. 

Ranojoy also admits that after playing the character, he realises how the members of the LGBTQIA+ community suffer every day. “A bi-curious or homosexual person is as normal as we all are. But society stereotypes them as effeminate and whatnot! We refuse to understand that a gay man can exuberate maleness as much as a straight man can. Every day they have to prove that they are as normal as us. It is painful to see their plight,” he explains. 

Meanwhile, a number of Ranojoy’s films, including Shimanto, Taranga, Bonobibi, Chhaad and Dhuusar, are set to release this year. The actor is also very busy with his television mega serial Guddi on Star Jalsha. How is the managing his calendar? “I have stopped taking any more work till October. Guddi takes a lot of my time,” he says, adding, “I have two heroines in the serial. I am there in both the tracks, while they get their offs, I end up working more,” quips the actor. 

In fact, a certain section of the media reported that due to his relationship with one of his heroines on the set of Guddi, his relationship with Sohini ended up in trouble. “Everyone on the set of Guddi laughed at such mindless gossip. It’s bizarre. Actually, wherever there is news of a breakup, our society tries to find a logical and understandable reason to blame it on. We often ignore the fact that separation takes place when we get detached emotionally. Blaming a third person can ignite salacious gossip but without any reality in it,” says the actor. 

Ranojoy refuses to talk about his seratation in detail. “I still believe I am not ready to talk about it. I am moving on. I have a lot of work lined up. My hands are full at the moment,” he says. But the actor also misses the holiday. “I know one vacation will help me to rejuvenate,” he says.