His proficiency in acting and directing deeply rich, thought-provoking movies, with true passion and dedication, won the 46 year old Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist and rugby player, Rahul Bose, the Best Actor award at the Singapore Film Festival for 'Split Wide Open' in 2000. He was also awarded as the Runner-up Best Debut Director for his film, 'Everybody Says I'm Fine!' He is also notable for his social activism. He participated in the relief efforts that followed the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and is also the founder of the anti-discrimination NGO, The Foundation. In 2012 he was awarded the prestigious Hakim Khan Sur Award for National Integration. On India's Independence Day last year, he was conferred the Lt. Governor's Commendation Award for his services to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Actor
Rahul Bose started acting when he was as little as six, playing the lead in 'Tom, the Piper's son' in school. Some of his blockbuster Indian flicks include 'Jhankar Beats', 'Pyaar ka Side Effects' and 'Chameli'. He also played the antagonist in the Tamil-Hindi film 'Vishwaroopam'. He also starred in a trio of Bengali films 'Anuranan', 'Kaalpurush', and 'Antaheen'. 'Antaheen' was screened at various film festivals and went on to win several National Awards including one for Best Film. But gathering from his spectacular performances in 'English, August', 'Mr. and Mrs. Iyer', '15 Park Avenue' and 'Midnight's Children', that brought home a number of awards and critic appreciation, one may argue that his forte lies in parallel cinema films.
Mainstream versus Independent
Despite the fact that he has the abilities of any mainstream actor, Bose makes a lot of independent films and chooses projects with deeper and more meaningful storylines over commercial ones. That's not to say that he doesn't do commercial movies. If the script and the plot intrigue him, he will do it, 'I will act in any commercial film as long as the storyline has some depth and it fascinates me. But since mainstream or commercial films are popular for their item songs, their storylines are very predictable. To me, arthouse films align more closely to the way the unpredictable streams of our lives flow; you can't predict where the story is headed. They lack glitz and glamour, but they are more natural and practical. It's easier for the audience to relate to them.'
The Director's Chair
Deriving directorial inspiration from August English, Bose says, 'When I'm directing, I usually don't focus on commerciality; I am not fascinated by the common ingredients of the Indian movies – glitz and glamour, evergreen romance and melodrama. So many a time, without the presence of catchy dance numbers where the actors and dancers are constantly changing their costumes, or the cheesy romantic dialogues, the audience often labels my movies as “boring”.'
Bose is pretty lenient when it comes to directing movies, 'I choose not to tutor my actors to strictly memorize their dialogues. They are free to modify their roles and deliver in a natural manner. I like spontaneity and acting that seems more natural and real.' After his directorial success with 'Everybody says I'm fine', he wrote the script for 'The Whisperer'; he wishes to continue doing so in the coming years.
Book Adaptations
Bose believes that a book can be interpreted in different ways, 'The message that the author tries to convey may not accurately emulate the way the reader construes it. The same book, if adapted by different filmmakers might pass on different messages to the audience. People argue that the movies usually fail to live up to the readers' expectations but it's not always true. One has to keep in mind that in books, we have the unbridled imagination of the writer combined with the imagination of the reader. One can imagine the characters however they like, whereas a movie is entirely different; it is upto the Director and the actors to interpret the text for the audience. If the reader is willing to adapt to adaptations, it is possible for the Director to deliver.'
The Foundation
Rahul Bose is also a distinguished social activist. When he was about 25, he found himself in the middle of a religious dispute and that ignited him to start his own NGO. Later in 2007, his NGO The Foundation was initiated and it is dedicated to the removal of all kinds of discrimination from all walks of life.
Looking back at Bose's impressive contributions and success on both sides of the camera and to the community, it is rest assured that this man who dons so many hats, will be unleashing more surprises to the audience with more projects stacked in the pipeline.

PHOTO: RIDWAN ADID RUPON