Kinjal Nanda: I’m forever grateful to theatre, it’s still breeding ground for actors

Kinjal Nanda is finally getting the due recognition he deserves. The versatile actor who comes with a strong theatre background has received immense appreciation of late for his natural acting in films like ‘Hiralal’, ‘8/12’, ‘KarnaSubarner Guptodhon’ and the latest being the web series ‘The Bengal Scam’. In his next film, Kinjal will once again play a serious role of a lawyer in ‘The Red Files’.
Interestingly in ‘Hiralal’, he played an almost forgotten filmmaker, in ‘8/12’ we saw him as a freedom fighter and ‘KarnaSubarner Guptodhon’ introduced Kinjal as an average Bengali guy whereas ‘The Bengal Scam’ saw his action avatar. It seems the actor has a natural instinct in playing wide range of characters. And, Kinjal believes all these were possible because of his hard work in theatre for years.
“Theatre is still the breeding ground for actors. Stage gives you the opportunity to polish your acting skills. It gives enough time to practice, do workshops which is essential if you want to be a convincing character artist. All thanks to my years of experience in theatre I am getting such wonderful roles in films and OTT. But I am still evolving as an individual and actor. I think every actor should try theatre in order to have a better grip in their craftsmanship,” explains Kinjal.
The ‘Hiralal’ actor further insists that even if so many offers are coming now he doesn’t want to get stereotyped. “I am all in for characters that will challenge me, characters with multiple layers, the ones that will allow me test my skills and what I have learned over the years. The love and appreciation I am getting now will inspire me to explore beyond my abilities,” said the actor.

Speaking about his OTT experience Kinjal shares there’s something unique in OTT contents. “The characters and narrative in OTT contents, especially in episodic ones, often look more grounded and nuanced which gives the actors the much-needed freedom to explore their skills.”
Meanwhile, after ‘8/12’ Kinjal will reunite with director Arun Roy in the upcoming film ‘Aranyer Dinratri’, a modern adaptation of the original novel written by Sunil Gangopadhyay. The film, also starring Jeetu Kamal, Sohini Sarkar, Arno Mukhopadhyay and Anuska Chakraborty in the lead, will hit the shooting floors in March 2023. He’s also in talks for an upcoming web series after the super success of ‘The Bengal Scam’.