Samrat Chakrabarti: Not Waiting Around For Success

Whether it’s a recurring gig on the F/X show Damages; a standout role in the indie flick The Waiting City, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September; or a part in the big budget Bollywood film New York, Samrat Chakrabarti is everywhere these days—and it’s okay if you don’t know yet know him.

“I don’t mind being the ‘Hey, I know that guy. I’ve seen him but I don’t know his name,’ [guy],” says the actor and musician. “That’s fine, because it’s just about getting out there. Hopefully at the end of the day, the bigger projects will [come].”

Chakrabarti, who was born in London and raised in the Boston area, credits his parents with opening his eyes to a career in the arts. “When I was a kid, they had me learn [to play the] tabla (drum). At the age of six, they had me doing [Bengali poetry recitations]; I was singing Rabindra sangeet (songs of Rabindranath Tagore) at the age of eight. So, they planted the seed. It’s like, ‘I give all the credit to you. You have instilled in me this desire and the seeking of art and culture.’ Some people say that Bengalis are known as the poets and politicians, and I think there’s some truth to that, because that’s the household that I grew up in. I feel very lucky and blessed to have parents like that.”

The actor is also blessed by a constant need to be working—something that has already given the 34-year-old an impressive cinematic résumé. “I’m not someone who sits around crossing my fingers, waiting for the phone to ring for an audition,” he admits. “There’s realists and idealists; I call myself an ‘I do’-list. If it’s ‘slow’ this season [in the U.S.], then I’m going to go to India, and I’m going to shoot a Bengali film. I’ll be like, ‘It’s wintertime, nothing’s really booked, so I’m going to India or going to L.A.’ I’m just someone who wants to continue to work, whether it be for first time directors or huge banners like Yash Raj Films or F/X. To me, a good story, a good group of people, is what I want to [be involved with]. I want to continue to expand and tell stories that are powerful.”

Photo Courtesy of Samrat Chakrabarti

Photo Courtesy of Samrat Chakrabarti

Chakrabarti’s commitment to his craft has already won him international notice. In February, the actor made the winners’ list of the Triangle Media Group’s Global Awards, which honor South Asian achievements in both arts and sciences. Other honorees included Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman and Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen. “It’s totally surreal. To be included in the same sentence as people that are role models for me is something that’s unbelievable and extremely humbling,” says Chakrabarti. “But at the same time, I know that there’s a long road ahead. I just feel lucky to play a diverse range of roles, to tell stories on a global scale, and I feel blessed that I get to work on unique projects.”

Audiences will get a look at several of those projects this year. “The Waiting City is the big one, [with] Radha Mitchell [of Pitch Black],” says Chakrabarti. “Then, a movie that’s been doing the [festival] circuit right now is Bombay Summer, with Tannishtha Chatterjee [of Brick Lane]. It’s about three friends who come from different backgrounds, different economic places and how they connect. Loins of Punjab Presents, the Shabana Azmi film—sort of a cult hit—is going to be coming out [on DVD] in the next couple of months. It’s a very fun, Christopher Guest-style ‘mockumentary,’ which I also composed the title track for,” adds the actor. “Ajay Naidu’s film, Ashes, is coming out, too—which is totally different. I play a gangster in that, with a gun and a gold tooth!”

Diverse roles may be Chakrabarti’s raison d’etre, but his real-life sense of self is what keeps him grounded. “There was a time in L.A., about four or five years ago, when [someone] suggested that I change my name or shorten it, as in a Sam or Sammy Chakra,” he recalls. “At that point, Arnold Schwarzenegger was already the governor of California, and I was like, ‘If some guy that has a name like [that] can be the governor, then why do I need to change my name?’ That’s the first thing, on a business level,” stresses the actor. “But on a spiritual and human level, I’m not only representing myself in this moment. I’m standing on many things…on history, my forefathers and what my immediate family went through to be in the United States. So, if there’s something I’m not going to change, it is my name, my last name specifically, because it represents more than me.”

Photo Courtesy of Samrat Chakrabarti

And Chakrabarti represents the future of global cinema. “I’m definitely hitting the pavement, and we’ll see how things go,” he says. “I’d rather do this, die a poor man and say that at least I’ve lived than [do] anything else in the world. And that’s beyond idealism talking. It’s about your calling. Once you hear that calling, you can’t un-hear it.”

Mala Bhattacharjee is currently news editor, columnist and blogger for Soap Opera Weekly magazine. When not interviewing daytime's bold and beautiful, she's perfecting her chana masala recipe and Netflixing Hindi films.