For Abhishek Banerjee, hard work and perseverance has finally paid off as he was recently honoured for his portrayal in web series Paatal Lok. The actor says it has been quite a career graph which began from doing bit roles in films to casting to now a much-in-demand artiste.

“I look at the trophy, more like I steal glances every time I walk past it. I just can’t believe ki sahi mein mere ghar pe ye hain. I am quite humbled because it is a validation of the fact that I’m on the right track. You know how it is difficult to impress. It is a very different kind of satisfaction,” he says.

Banerjee, awarded as the best supporting actor for his portrayal of the lead antagonist, looks back at his journey and muses, “Like everyone I also came to Mumbai to make it big as an actor. Then when you don’t get to do roles which you might have wanted to do in your ’20s, with filmmakers you like as they usually cast raw actors, I thought kuch problem hai. Casting became the route to survival.”

But he is proud of his journey. “Casting helps you be in the drill so I know what’s happening around. I thought to myself that now the only way to keep the actor inside of me alive is to do short films, indie films and just keep up the process. I worked with Devashish Makhija and then Amar Kaushik saw it and Stree (2018) happened,” he says.

“Then opportunities started coming in and Paatal Lok also happened. I realised only last year what going viral means, what being famous means,” he adds.