Samrat Chakrabarti
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| Samrat Chakrabarti | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 22, 1975 London, England |
Samrat Chakrabarti (born August 22, 1975) is a British-American actor and musician. He is known for his starring roles in Kissing Cousins (2007) and Sing Now or Forever Hold Your Peace (2007).
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Samrat was born in London, England to a doctor father and a social-worker mother; both of his parents were immigrants from Kolkata, India. He is an alumnus of Belmont High School. He graduated from Brandeis University and later attended the Art/MXAT Training Program at Harvard University.
When asked about his fondest childhood memory in a recent television interview, he said: "It was close to 2 am, which was way past the bedtime of any 2nd grader. I was pacing the large empty halls of Mount Auburn Hospital, hearing the ticking of the clock, feeling like a kid on the brink of adulthood, waiting... After what felt like an eternity of silence, I hear my name being called and a tender scream. I walk to the door and look inside: I see my mom, my dad and my newborn baby sister. A moment I will never forget".
[edit] Acting career
Chakrabarti's feature film debut came in 1994 in Spike Lee's She Hate Me. He has since appeared in Manish Acharya's Loins of Punjab Presents (starring Bollywood star Shabana Azmi) , Manan Katahora's Arya, Joseph Castelo's The War Within (nominated for Indie Spirit Award, and Anjaan Dutt's The Bong Connection (starring Victor Banerjee. In 2007, he was seen in Ajay Naidu's Ashes, Sarba Das's Karma Calling and Amyn Kaderali's Kissing Cousins.
He has also had several guest appearances on television including Law & Order (NBC), The Sopranos (HBO), Love Monkey (CBS) and Hope and Faith (ABC).
He says that despite being told that an anglicized name would get him more auditions, he prefers to use his birth name: “One of the greatest triumphs of our society is its celebration of diversity. Why subsidize primitive thought? It only slows down evolution”.
[edit] Music career
Samrat Chakrabarti is also an established international musician. He won a U.S. CARA for Best Original Pop / Rock Song for his composition "What's It all About". He is a former member of the a capella group Five O' Clock Shadow. He was also a part of the group The Hyannis Sound.
[edit] Quotes
- "A brown man in a white industry, I am not involved in politics; politics is involved in me".
- "In the vein of Satyajit Ray and Shyam Benegal, we must prove ourselves through the beauty of independent cinema. In that way, I want to help bring the indie back to Indian."
- "Paint the town brown."
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | She Hate Me | Ahmad | |
| 2005 | Arya | Raj Singh | |
| 2005 | The War Within | Pakistani Interrogator | |
| 2006 | The Bong Connection | Rakesh | |
| 2007 | Loins of Punjab Presents | Trance Sen | |
| 2007 | Ashes | Rishi | |
| 2007 | Karma Calling | Rohit Rao | |
| 2007 | Kissing Cousins | Amir |
[edit] Television roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Sopranos (HBO) | Dr. Onkar Singh | |
| 2004 | Law & Order (NBC) | Hydar Raheem | |
| 2004 | Hope and Faith (ABC) | DJ | |
| 2006 | Love Monkey (CBS) | Engineer | |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent (NBC) | Tanriq Amir |
