Victor Banerjee finds solace in TV serials

Mumbai, Nov 17 (IANS) Well-known Bengali actor Victor Banerjee is not so happy with the kind of roles he is being offered in Bollywood and has therefore decided to stay away from Hindi movies. He has moved on to the small screen and is enjoying his stint there.

"I've reached a stage and an age in my career where I need to do work that keeps me economically and emotionally comfortable. And for that I need to get into spaces that don't require me to make too many compromises with my beliefs as an an actor," Victor told IANS on phone from his home in Mussoorie.

From the time he played the lead with Shabana Azmi in Lekh Tandon's "Doosri Dulhan" to his recent stint as Rani Mukerji and Aishwarya Rai's father in "Ta Ra Rum Pum" and "Sarkar Raj", respectively, Victor, best remembered for putting Indian cinema on the international map after playing the lead in David Lean's "A Passage To India", is not being offered anything substantial now.

Even Bengali cinema, once happy to offer Victor plum roles, has no space worthy of him. So, the veteran actor has been steering clear of Bengali film offers as well.

He has now moved on to the small screen. He is doing a television serial and Victor says he is comfortable with what he is doing.

"It's a Bengali family soap called 'Bandhan' on a new channel. I play the patriarch of the family - what else can I play at my age - who holds his offsprings into the family fold for as long as he can. Finally, he gives them the freedom to go whichever way they want."

The serial went on air in August and Victor has to shoot just for 10 days in a month for the family drama.

"And I get paid well enough for me and my wife and my dog to be well looked-after. I can spend a part of every month in Kolkata. The rest of the time I can be in Mussoorie," he said.

• Television