The last few weeks have been nothing short of a dream for Ritwik Bhowmik. After the release of Bandish Bandits, his debut series, in the first week of August on Amazon Prime Video, Bhowmik has earned the title of the new teenage heartthrob. Ask the actor about that and he shyly says, “That’s so sweet of people to say.”However, before the stardom he is now receiving for playing the character Radhe, an Indian classical singer, his friends knew him as dance fanatic who could set any stage on fire. Bhowmik did his schooling at Baldwin’s Boys High School and Clarence High School before he went to Mumbai to try his hand at acting.
“I spent my formative years in Bengaluru, so whatever I am today is because of the time spent in the city or the learning I got there,” says Bhowmik, who got exposed to the world of theatre, dance and music in Bengaluru. Interestingly, he was also a part of a band in Clarence High School during 11th and 12th grade. Ask him if that was an initial training for him for Bandish Bandits and he says Indian musicals are not like Western ones where the actors have to sing.
“But it was also not easy since I had to get the nuances of an Indian classical singer for which I had to go through three months of vocal training,” he adds. Initially, the 27-year-old was taken aback at the role because he felt the character was poles apart from him. “That’s when director Anand Tiwari suggested I question how Radhe would react in the particular situation. That exercise helped me find similarities between us,” says Bhowmik.
Sharing screen space with veterans like Naseeruddin Shah and Atul Kulkarni is a dream launch for any actor and Bhowmik could not agree more. “Naseer sir plays a legendary Indian classical singer and my grandfather. Initially, I was nervous about doing any scene with him. The director noticed it and brought this to Naseer sir’s attention. So, he invited all of us to his home and we had a reading session together. And this was just to make us comfortable,” says Bhowmik, who found a similar humility in Atul Kulkarni too.
Shreya Chaudhary plays the female lead in the series, with the chemistry between the two being widely talked about. “Shreya and I are the only two freshers in the whole cast of Bandish Bandits. Even the supporting cast comprises all experienced actors. So we made a deal to have each other’s back throughout,” says Bhowmik, adding that this evolved into “an amazing friendship.” He adds, “I hope people shower the same amount of love for my future endeavors too.”