Rohit Roy has gone back to his original name, Rohit Bose Roy. He explains that when he had started out, many had insisted it was a mouthful, so he had dropped the Bose. “Today, when I look back, I wonder why I did that. It wasn’t for any astrological or numerological reasons, all my official documents have always had the Bose, I only edited it for screen,” he clarifies.

Considering his actor-brother Ronit also uses Bose, won’t that create a confusion? “Our parents got a little too creative with our names and since the beginning it has created plenty of confusion. Hopefully, it will now get me most of his roles,” chuckles Rohit, who shared the screen with his brother in Hrithik Roshan’s action-thriller Kaabil two years ago.
He admits he’s surprised it took makers 20 years to cast them together and though people liked the brothers’ angle in Kaabil, they haven’t been offered anything interesting since. “But I’m sure it’s just a matter of time,” he smiles, going on to reveal that Ronit will feature in his feature-length, yetuntitled directorial debut. It’s a musical story set in Goa, revolving around a father and a son with Ronit playing the father. “It’s a Ronit you have never seen earlier onscreen,” he promises. “We start shooting early next year.”

Rohit had signed a three-film deal with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, but the project was taking too long to take off. Now, Shobha Sant, the former CEO of SLB’s production house, who has the rights to the father-son story, will be producing the film.

Meanwhile, Rohit will feature in Sanjay Gupta’s gangster drama, Mumbai Saga, headlined by John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi. “Sanjay’s films have swagger, whether it’s Kaante or Kaabil, and I have always performed well in his films. This time my character is called Baba and he’s a gangster. So is John’s and the film shows how Bombay became Mumbai. I kick off on July 17 and most of it will be filmed in South Mumbai,” informs the actor who took off to Maldives on Thursday night with actress-wife Manasi to bring in daughter Kiara’s 17th birthday. “People sometimes don’t believe that I have a 17-year-old daughter,” he laughs.

There is also the reboot of the medical-drama Sanjivani which first premiered in 2002 and brings him back to TV. He was last seen on the small screen in Ravi Chopra’s Viraasat. “I signed this a month after greenlighting Mumbai Saga. When things are going your way, you must say ‘yes’ to all the good work that comes along. Sanjivani is something I have always wanted to be a part of. In fact, when they had announced the show, I was hoping they would come to me and they did. This time it’s commerce versus saving lives. I play the hospital CFO, Vardhan, for whom business comes before everything else,” he informs. He will reunite with Mohnish Bahl, his first co-star. They’d started their careers with a film titled Jazbaa which unfortunately, never released. “My first shot was with Mohnish and facing the camera together again after so many years was emotional for us,” he confides, adding that his co-star is a nice guy.

He’s also pushing his wife Manasi to get back to acting full time. She was last seen in Ekta Kapoor’s 2017 show Dhhai Kilo Prem. “Kiara was growing up so she had taken a sabbatical, but now I urge her every morning to make a comeback. She is a better actor and she is wasting her talent turning down all the offers that come to her so frequently. She’s not even doing theatre. But now that she’s made up her mind, I’m sure things will fall in place,” Rohit signs off with the same positive vibe.

This time it’s commerce versus saving lives. I play the hospital CFO, Vardhan, for whom business comes before everything else

–Rohit Bose Roy on Sanjivani reboot

Credits: mumbaimirror