In the latest Bengali TV serial Rani Rashmoni, actor Sourav Saha plays the role of Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, aka Ramakrishna Paramhansa – the mystic saint and social reformer who had a lasting impact on Hinduism and Bengali society, both. The man from Kamarpukur in Hooghly district was brought to Kolkata to work as a priest at the Dakshineshwar Temple that was established by the queen of Janbazaar, Rani Rashmoni (played by Ditipriya Roy). Even after his death, he has left behind a lasting legacy. Read more about the actor who plays the role of one of the most important figures in the history of Bengal.

Sourav studied in Ramakrishna Mission Boys’ Home School, Rahara in North 24 Parganas. So he has read books on Ramakrishna Paramhansa even as a child. He stays in Khardah in the outskirts of Kolkata and his house is almost next to Ramakrishna Mission school.

This isn’t the first time that Sourav has played the role of Ramakrishna Deb. Earlier he had done a documentary film on the saint which was directed by Haranath Chakraborty. It has been screened by Ramakrishna Mission Ashram across the world.

Being a student of Ramakrishna Mission, Sourav was anyway aware of the saint and various things about him. He also depended on the directorial team of Rani Rashmoni and read the books that were referred by them. Apart from that, he also spoke to the monks at Ramakrishna Mission to get a better idea about his character and find out about the mannerisms and everything else that characterise Ramakrishna Paramhansa.

Sourav, in an interview, admitted that he wasn’t a great student. However, he was interested in sports and acting. There was an ambience of theatre in the area where he stayed and that’s where it all began when the actor was in standard seven. He got into serials while doing theatre.

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