My earliest memories are of my mother driving me to a hospital after I collided with a wall: And suffered a gash across my left eyebrow. This scar reminds me of my childhood in Kolkata, where I was born to Rupen and Kumud Bose on July 27, 1967. Anu, my elder sister, is my support system in life.
From Kolkata, my family moved to Mumbai: There I completed kindergarten at Miniland and then shifted to Cathedral School.As a child, I just couldn''t stand authority. I argued incessantly and was often thrown out of class for this.
Medals, certificates... anything which gave me recognition spurred me on: But exams scared me silly. While in Class II, I faced the audience for the first time, playing the lead in Tom, Tom, The Piper''s Son.
While mom never entered the kitchen, dad is a wonderful cook: Mom, in turn, encouraged me to read and an encyclopaedia was my gift on my tenth birthday. Mom introduced me to rugby and boxing. If dad had got his way, I would have kept to cricket.
I look back with amusement at the things I did as a teenager to impress girls: In fact, I joined a gym for one particular girl, and managed to go around with her for five years. If only I had been a little less tense during dates, I would have had a better time!
I never got to study in the US: I had taken it for granted that I would secure admission to an Ivy League college in the US. I applied to 18 American universities — everybody in my class got selected, I didn''t. At 18, I was extremely arrogant and this was a major blow to my ego. I had to settle for Sydenham College. I attended college for 60 days in three years and always had a medical certificate ready.
Rugby and theatre offered me an outlet: College life was unbearable, but outside the campus, I had a wonderful time with theatre, rugby and boxing. I have played rugby at the international level and won a silver medal in boxing at the Western India Championships. While in my third year at Sydenham, I applied to the Tucks School of Business, New Hampshire. But here, too, I was denied admission.
When Mom passed away in 1987, I realised that nothing in life is within one''s control: The process of self-introspection started. I zeroed in on copy-writing as this gave me space to do what I really wanted to do —act. I joined an ad agency as a copywriter in October, 1989. In the same year, I gave my first public performance with Rahul d''Cunha''s play Topsy Turvy.
In 1993, during the staging of There Are Tigers In The Congo, Rahul''s aunt Uma d''Cunha was casting for English August: Uma sent my snaps to the film''s director Dev Benegal, who rejected them because I ''looked like a chocolate box''. But I forced Dev to screen-test me and finally convinced him. English August became my first film.
My job left me with little time to act: In April, 1995, I resigned. For two months, I had no job. However, I believed that unless I created a vacuum, I wouldn''t find things to fill my life. Fortunately, the Anant Balani-directed Mouthful Of Sky came my way. The serial meant a fixed salary. Anant''s recent death has come as a shock to me.
After Split Wide Open was released, critics ripped me apart: To be an English-speaking slum-dweller who is also a smuggler, I spent a month in the slums. Ironically, the criticism at home turned into praise when I won the Best Actor award for Split Wide Open at the Singapore Film Festival.
I have experimented with different films: Thakshak, Bombay Boys, Everybody Says I''m Fine, Jhankar Beats, Mr and Mrs Iyer and now Mumbai Matinee. But hard work and talent are not enough. I was lucky to be at the right place at the right time when Indian English cinema was taking off.
I have met wonderful women, fallen in love, and had strong relationships: But I am happy even when I don''t have someone special in my life. My friends think I''m crazy. And with a pet name like Pygmy, it''s difficult to have an inflated ego!
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