Ankahi Kahaniya: Abhishek Banerjee will be seen romancing a mannequin in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s short

Abhishek Banerjee rose to prominence for his gripping role of Hathoda Tyagi in Amazon Prime Video’s Paatal Lok. The actor, who started his career as a casting director, has been on a roll ever since. He has been signed on for important roles in films and web series. Standing out in his oeuvre so far, is his role in Ankahi Kahaniya, a role that brought out the softer side in him, and is diametrically opposite of his Paatal Lok character.

Abhishek told Mid-Day that it was rather unexpected for him to be considered for a love story after Paatal Lok. Ankahi Kahaniya holds a special place for him as he could do a romance on screen for the first time. He described it as a ‘difficult emotion,’ saying, “As actors, we practice dramatic and comedy [scenes]; hardly does one portray romance.” He also added that while doing theatre, he didn’t think he would do what ‘Shah Rukh Khan has done.’ “Growing up in India, the dating culture has always been understood through films,” he said.

ALSO READ: Ankahi Kahaniya trailer: Netflix brings heartwarming tales of love, loss, longing in new anthology 

Netflix’s Ankahi Kahaniya is an ode to love. But the anthology is not your average meet-cute Bollywood style romantic drama. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s short that premieres today is premised on the theme of loneliness in modern-day lives. Banerjee plays a salesman who finds his friend and companion in a mannequin. Abhishek described working with Tiwary as an ‘unforgettable experience,’ and that he is keen to work with her again. Extolling her films as reflections of her creative energy, he said that when she began directing him and telling her vision of the story, he knew he had to see the world through her perspective.

Ankahi Kahaniya features three shorts by three directors, Ashwini Iyer Tiwary, Saket Chaudhury and Abhishek Chaubey. Kunal Kapoor, Abhishek Banerjee, Rinku Rajguru, Zoya Hussain, Nikhil Dwivedi and Palomi Ghosh will be seen in the anthology.

Watch the trailer of the anthology here.

Abhishek Banerjee began his career as a casting director, who assisted Gautam Kishanchandani, wherein Milan Luthria’s Once Upon a Time in Mumbai was his first assignment. He went on to work as a casting director for Dirty Picture too, which became a hit and helped him make a mark as a casting director. Banerjee got his first break with TVF’s Pitchers, where one of his dialogues went viral on social media. He also has a barely noticeable appearance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti. His first big break was as Jana in Dinesh Vijan’s Stree but the OTT platform took him to greater heights and reinvented his career in a way. He has been seen in shows like Paatal Lok, Mirzapur, along with movies like Ajeeb Dastaans.

On the work front, he has Bollywood biggies like Dostana 2, Bhediya and Rashmi Rocket lined up this year.