Fortunate to essay role of football legend Chuni Goswami: Actor Amartya Ray

Kolkata: Young actor Amartya Ray said he felt fortunate to essay the role of football legend Chuni Goswami and share the screen with Ajay Devgn in the upcoming Bollywood movie 'Maidaan'.

Ray, the son of seasoned Bengali actor Chaiti Ghosal, was talking about the sports drama in which Devgn essays the role of the architect of modern Indian football, Syed Abdul Rahim. 'Maidaan' will be released on Eid.

Speaking to PTI on the sets of the upcoming Bengali movie 'Never Mind', Ray said, "I feel so fortunate to essay the role of Chuni Goswami, whom I had met several times before. He was a family friend who knew my mother and grandfather very well." Stating that a significant part of his role revolved around India's 1962 Asia Cup win in which Goswami, as the skipper, played a stellar role in the country's victory, Ray said no video recording of the Indian team's practice was available and he went through photographs to perfect the on-field techniques with the ball.

"I did not imitate Chuni Goswami... he was a legendary footballer. But I sought to reinterpret his graceful movements on the turf. I had heard anecdotes about him from family elder and sports reporter Partha Rudra, and sports journalist Novy Kapadia. I underwent hardcore training under a sports choreographer and a physical trainer for the role," he said.

Ray said his first love had been football in the cricket-crazy nation even though he is also a big fan of the gentleman's game.

"I love sports in general and I am very happy to be a part of this sports movie," he said.

Speaking about his experience with Devgn, Ray said he grew up watching the Bollywood actor's films and on the sets of 'Maidaan', he "had an aura and his character carried a certain weight".

'Maidaan', directed by Amit Sharma, stars Devgn as football coach Rahim and showcases Indian football between 1952 and 1962.