Actor Jeet, known for his roles in Sathi and Netflix's Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, is nearing 25 years as an actor in a run that has taken him from a small-budget Hindi debut through Telugu, Bengali, Odia and Bhojpuri cinema, as well as a Hindi-language Netflix web series.
Looking back, he describes an industry that has never stood still under him. "Every one and a half to two years, you get to see a shift in how cinema is made and watched," he says. On this note, the one piece of advice he wishes someone would have given him when he started his acting career would be to "adapt to changes and stay relevant."
Ahead of his latest release, Keu Bole Biplobi, Keu Bole Dakat, a Bengali biopic about freedom fighter Ananta Lal Singh, Jeet spoke with THR India about the responsibility of introducing a Bengali historical figure to contemporary audiences through the film, straddling the roles of producer and actor, his journey across five film industries, where he sees Bengali cinema's place in the national conversation, and what the next 25 years might hold.
As his milestone approaches, Jeet heads into his latest leading role — and a return to Bengali language cinema after two years — with Keu Bole Biplobi Keu Bole Dakat. The film is a biographical drama about Ananta Singh, a freedom fighter from Masterda Surya Sen's revolutionary group who, in the years after independence, was remembered by some as a hero and by others as an outlaw.
The title, drawn from a memoir Singh wrote in jail, translates loosely to "some say revolutionary, some say dacoit." Directed by Pathikrit Basu and produced by Jeet under his production banner, Jeetz Filmworks, alongside Nandy Movies, the film releases in theatres on August 14.
Jeet shares how director Pathikrit Basu was trying to pitch stories to him for a while before they finally sat down with this script. "He narrated the story and I thought it was such interesting material — the arc, the career, the journey, this man's life," he recalls. "To me, he was an unsung hero." Knowing that the story was adapted from Singh's own prison memoir sealed it for him. "I thought it must be made, and it should come to people to watch and enjoy."
Tasked with retelling Singh's story, Jeet is candid about the importance of telling the story despite not knowing how many will see it. "I don't know how many eyeballs it's going to attract, but it is the story of the soil, the story of Bengal," he says. "I'm pretty hopeful that people in Bengal will connect with it." He believes its themes could travel further: "His fight was against the system, and he was an absolute nationalist; so this can also attract people living outside Bengal."
On producing the film through his own banner as well as starring in it, he opens up about reading a script differently through two perspectives. "When I listen to a story, there are always two sides active together: the producer side and the actor side."
Elaborating on this, he explains how the urge to bring new stories to audiences as a producer often stands strong. "When I hear any material, I first see the story as a whole, and then I see the characters. We've also produced films for other actors in the past that I wasn't a part of. So the two sides of mine are always active... it's never just one. If there is only one, it has to be the maker’s side, which is focused only on the story."
That instinct to reach people through his work, Jeet says, is also what has taken him across five film industries over his career, with projects in Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Odia and Bhojpuri. "I always wanted to reach people through my work. That's the reason I thought I must do different languages," he explains. "The goal was clear that through my work, I just want to reach the whole universe."
And it was that very instinct that led him to one of his most famous roles, in Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, his first web series, though he says he went into it on faith alone. While he and creator Neeraj Pandey have been friends for years, when Pandey was casting the Bengal-set instalment of his Khakee franchise, he didn't reveal much upfront. "He said, don't ask what is it, like, just have faith and do it," Jeet recollects.
Though he agreed to the deal, it was only once Pandey and his team narrated the story to him that the scale of the opportunity became clear. "I thought it was a good opportunity again to meet my aspiration of reaching out to people — especially having Netflix on board, as they have some of the largest distribution," he says. The end product, he adds, brought him a wave of new viewers writing in with their thoughts on the show and his performance.
Discussing what's changed for Bengali actors with respect to taking on other language projects, especially Hindi shows and films, Jeet points partly to how connected audiences have become. " Finance and commerce is needed — everybody needs money to survive. But besides money, today because of the internet and global connectivity, everything is on your fingertips," he notes. "That line definitely is getting blurred."
For him, language was never the barrier: "I've been a Hindi-speaking guy —I've studied Hindi, and for me it's been the most comfortable language. Today too, if there's anything interesting, I'd love to work in Hindi."
On whether Bengali cinema has had a crossover moment nationally, the way Sairat did for Marathi cinema, Jeet says a few Bengali titles have been remade in Hindi, "but nothing has actually connected the cord in a big way." He remains optimistic about the industry's underlying potential, given how widely the language is spoken. "Bengali is the sixth largest spoken language in the world, so the potential is there. We have a long way to go to be talked about nationally or globally," he says. “But we have potential in terms of talents we have around the industry — the makers, the directors, the technicians and the actors."
Asked to name a recent Bengali film he felt deserved wider attention, he cites Bohurupi. "I thought that was really good material, which can be remade in any language."
After nearly 25 years in the industry, Jeet says there is a pattern to the changes the industry sees. "Every one and a half, two years, you get to see a shift in terms of filmmaking and its viewers. That's been a continuous process," he says. "You have to adapt to those changes, and you have to move on, stay relevant."
As for a role he hasn't played yet, Jeet points to this film, which is his return to Bengali cinema after two years away, in which he plays nine different characters in a single film — something he says he's never had the chance to do in nearly 25 years as an actor.
He expects the next 25 to follow the same rhythm, anchored by one constant. "There's only one tax which is unchanged when buying a [movie] ticket — that is entertainment tax. So if we keep entertaining through films, with evolved storytelling and technology, people are going to be there and watch films."