Amriter Sandhane – The Banaras Chapter (2023) S01

Amriter Sandhane – The Banaras Chapter, is a mythological thriller web series, set in the holy city of Banaras. A very old manuscript , which holds the clue to immortality, got stolen many years ago. Many people are on the run to get hold of that. It triggers a series of murders and abductions. An undercover agent of Kolkata Police, Ishan Sen and a student of archeology, Disha Chatterjee land in Banaras to solve the mystery. A professor from Banaras Hindu University, Tarun Shasmal, is trying to sell it of to an international smuggling cartel. Would Ishan and Disha be able to solve the case or Tarun Shasmal would be successful in his endeavor to smuggle it?

It was only after playing the eponymous character in Anirban Bhattacharya-directed series Mandaar, that actor Debasish Mondal got his due recognition as an actor. Till then the National School of Drama graduate had been hovering around in the industry, doing many a forgettable role in various projects, big and small. Last seen in a snarky role of a cop in the immensely popular series Shikarpur, the dynamic artiste is again turning into a policeman in the web series Amriter Sandhane, a mythological thriller directed by Abhinandan Dutta, co-starring Sauraseni and Chandan Roy Sanyal. As the series releases on Adda Times today, we speak with the actor about his character, how he chooses scripts, if he is going back to the theatres and more.

My character Ishaan Sen is an undercover agent, working for the Kolkata Police. Disha Chatterjee (Sauraseni) and her friend Anirban, both archaeology research scholars, travel to Benaras. While Disha returns, Anirban stays Amriter Sandhane back and goes missing after a few days. That’s when they take the help of the police and I travel to Benaras to unravel the case. Meanwhile, an expert in the shastras is murdered and a very old scripture that had the secrets to immortality goes missing. Sometime later another murder happens in Benaras, and they figure out that this won’t be an easy case to solve. How the case slowly unravels needs to be seen on screen. But there are various shades to my character. How even a confident person like Ishaan feels vulnerable in love, definitely needs to be watched. Ishaan will evolve a lot as the series progresses.

You have played the role of a cop/agent in 4-5 other films and series including a memorable performance in Shikarpur. Do you feel typecast?

I have played a cop in Johny Bonny, in Shikarpur, in an upcoming film Mrs Chatterjee, Abar Pralay and this one. Yes, I am getting roles to play cops, but I make sure that I highlight the humanistic elements, and the characteristics of that particular person to make them more relatable. It’s not just about a cop, it’s about the person. Being in the police is just another profession, however, I try not to play similar characters back to back.