Tota Roy Chowdhury

{{Infobox person

| name = Tota Roy Chowdhury

| image = Tota Roy Choudhury (cropped).jpg

| caption = Tota in 2021

| native_name_lang = টোটা রায় চৌধুরী_Bengali

| birth_name = Pushparag Roy Choudhury

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1976|07|09}}

| birth_place = Kolkata, West Bengal, India

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Indian

| occupation = Actor

| parents =

| website =

| othername =

| yearsactive = 1993{{endash}}present

}}

Tota Roy Chowdhury is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Bengali and Hindi cinema.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinestaan.com/people/tota-roy-chowdhury-50352|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707143837/https://www.cinestaan.com/people/tota-roy-chowdhury-50352|url-status=live|archive-date=7 July 2019|title=Tota Roy Chowdhury movies, filmography, biography and songs – Cinestaan.com|website=Cinestaan|access-date=2019-07-07}}{{unreliable inline|date=December 2024}} He is also known for his versatile acting performances, fitness, martial arts and dance moves.{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/i-am-looking-at-a-pan-indian-presence-bengali-actor-tota-roy-choudhury/|title=I am looking at a pan-Indian presence: Bengali actor Tota Roy Choudhury|newspaper=The Indian Express}}{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/tota-roy-chaudhary-on-indu-sarkar-controversy-little-alarmed-4748831/|title=Tota Roy Chaudhary on Indu Sarkar controversy: Little alarmed|newspaper=The Indian Express}} His notable roles include Feluda in the Hoichoi web series Feludar Goyendagiri{{cite web |title=Watch Feluda Pherot {{!}} Addatimes - Originals |url=https://www.addatimes.com/show/feluda-pherot-web-series |website=addatimes.com |language=en}} based on Satyajit Ray's Feluda series, Chandon Chatterjee in Karan Johar's film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and Rohit Sen in Star Jalsha's daily soap Sreemoyee.{{cite web |last1=Banerjee |first1=Anish |title=Picasso Web Series: Actor Tota Roy Chowdhury appears as a painter in Klikk's Crime and Thriller 'Picasso' |url=https://www.brutimes.com/news/entertainment/picasso-web-series-actor-tota-roy-chowdhury-appears-as-a-painter-in-klikks-crime-and-thriller-picasso |website=BruTimes |language=en}}

He made his big screen debut opposite Miss Jojo in Prabhat Roy's Bengali film Duranta Prem (1993).{{Cite news |title=Stars and their lowest paycheck |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/photo-features/stars-and-their-lowest-paycheck/photostory/48374213.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-06-05 |issn=0971-8257}} His breakthrough role came with Rituparno Ghosh's National Award winning Bengali film Chokher Bali (2003).{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinestaan.com/movies/chokher-bali-34078|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707150908/https://www.cinestaan.com/movies/chokher-bali-34078|url-status=live|archive-date=7 July 2019|title=Chokher Bali (2003) – Review, Star Cast, News, Photos|website=Cinestaan|access-date=2019-07-07}}

Career

= Early career =

During his second year in college, he made up his mind to join the Indian Army and was preparing for the CDS exams when fate intervened and he was asked by the director Prabhat Roy to play a small role in his film. That one film brought other offers and soon he decided to become a professional actor. After starring in a few commercially successful films, he was spotted by director Rituparno Ghosh and cast opposite Nandita Das in his film Shubho Mahurat.{{Cite web|url=http://www.totaroychoudhury.com/about.php|title=Tota Roy Choudhury {{!}} Official Website of Bengali Actor|last=Technologies|first=QSOL|website=totaroychoudhury.com|access-date=2018-08-08}}

= Breakthrough =

Chowdhury was cast again opposite Aishwarya Rai in Rituparno's Tagore adaptation, Chokher Bali. He won several awards, including the BFJA Award for the Best Actor.

After Chokher Bali, he did several films both commercial and mainstream like Aborto, Biye Not Out, Choukaath, Benche Thakar Gaan, Bolo Na Tumi Aamar, Paglu 2, Villain, and Shapath which cemented his position in the Bengali film industry.

He did an extended cameo in the AR Murugadoss directed Kaththi which introduced him into Tamil film industry. He also starred in the Sujoy Ghosh directed short film Ahalya alongside Soumitra Chatterjee and Radhika Apte, which went viral and he was noticed for his powerful presence as the police inspector. He then played the role of Arun in the film Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh; directed by Sujoy Ghosh opposite Vidya Balan,{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/what-is-tota-roy-chowdhury-doing-in-vidya-balan-s-kahaani-2/story-F7Yj0SgefL0pxFXL7pyj1H.html|title=What is Tota Roy Chowdhury doing in Vidya Balan's Kahaani 2?|newspaper=Hindustan Times}} which got him noticed by the Hindi film industry. His second Hindi film Indu Sarkar{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/bengali-actor-tota-roy-chowdhury-in-madhur-bhandarkars-next-4384163/|title=Bengali actor Tota Roy Chowdhury in Madhur Bhandarkar's next|newspaper=The Indian Express}} directed by Madhur Bhandarkar was released in 2017. He was cast opposite Kirti Kulhari and his portrayal of the troubled government servant Navin fetched him recognition and praises. Industry veteran Anupam Kher tweeted "Tota in Indu Sarkar is a brilliant piece of casting" and Asutosh Gowariker tweeted "Superb performance by Tota Roy Choudhury".

His next film was Helicopter Eela, directed by Pradeep Sarkar, where he was cast opposite Kajol. His portrayal of the psychologically disturbed Arun fetched him positive reviews.

He then did a cameo in The Girl on the Train, a Hindi remake of English film of the same name.

He also plays the iconic Bengali detective Feluda created by Satyajit Ray, in a web series directed by the multiple National Award winner Srijit Mukherji.{{cite web |title=Tota Roy Choudhury: Feluda will start his ‘Bhuswargo Bhoyonkawr’ shooting from January |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/news/bengali/tota-roy-choudhury-feluda-will-start-his-bhuswargo-bhoyonkawr-shooting-from-january/articleshow/94343748.cms |website=The Times of India |date=21 September 2022}}

In 2023, he recently acted in Karan Johar's directorial comeback Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani; along with Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. His performance, with regards to acting and Kathak dance, in this film has grabbed a lot of attention and accolades.

Filmography

= Films =

Year !Films !Role !Language !Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1993 \|Duranta Prem \| \| rowspan="40" \|Bengali \|
rowspan="4" \|1996	Puja	\|Chayan Da
\|Mukhyamantri	Rajat
\|Nach Nagini Nach Re
\|Lathi	Prashanta
rowspan="2" \|1998	Ranokhetro	Noni Roy
\|Hothat Brishti	Basav
rowspan="3" \|1999	Shudhu Ekbar Bolo
\| Sontan Jokhon Shotru	Dipyendu "Dipu" Ray
\| Gariber Samman	Sumon
rowspan="2" \|2000	Sasurbari Zindabad	Prashanta
\|Satbhai
2001	Dada Thakur	Rathin Roy
rowspan="2" \|2003	Shubho Mahurat	Arindam
\|Chokher Bali	Behari
2004	Ram Laxman	Laxman Sanyal
2005	Shunya E Buke	Artist's Friend
rowspan="4" \|2006	Dosar	Kaushik's colleague
\|Podokkhep	Debjit
\|Andhakarer Shabdo	Director
\|Abhinetree
rowspan="2" \|2007	Aloy Phera
\|Kailashe Kelenkari	Himself	Cameo Appearance
rowspan="4" \|2008	90 Ghanta	George
\|Golmaal	Mainak
\|Mon Amour: Shesher Kobita Revisited	Jeet
\|Tintorettor Jishu	Robin / Rajshekhar Niyogi
rowspan="3" \|2009	Paran Jai Jaliya Re	Sid
Angshumaner Chhobi	Neel
\|Hitlist
rowspan="2" \|2010	Bolo Na Tumi Aamar	IPS Soumyadeep Sen
\|Tara	Police Inspector
rowspan="3" \|2012	Chaal - The Game Begins
\|Paglu 2	Rudra
\|Tor Naam	Lecturer of Physics
rowspan="3" \|2013	Villain	Arnab
\|Aborto	Shyamal Sen
\|Sunglass	Sanjay	Bengali Version
rowspan="3" \|2014	Biye Not Out	Nikhil Sengupta
\|Ek Phaali Rodh	Pratim
\|Kaththi	Vivek Banarjee	Tamil
rowspan="3" \|2015	Shapath: The Promise		rowspan="3" \| Bengali
\|Ahalya	Inspector Indra Sen	Short Film
\|Choukath: The Threshold	Ronojoy
rowspan="3" \|2016	Te3n	Peter	rowspan="2" \| Hindi	Cameo
\|Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh	Arun
\|Benche Thakar Gaan	Dr. Sinha	Bengali
2017	Indu Sarkar	Naveen Sarkar	rowspan="2" \| Hindi
2018	Helicopter Eela	Arun Raiturkar
rowspan="2" \|2019 \|Misha \| \| rowspan="2" \|Bengali \|
Jaanbaaz	IPS Officer Abhijit Sarkar
rowspan="3" \|2021 \|The Girl on the Train	Dr. Hamid (psychiatrist)	rowspan="2" \| Hindi	Netflix Release
Ajeeb Daastaans	Rohan	Netflix Release
Mukhosh \|Dr. D.S. Paul \|Bengali \|
rowspan="3" \|2023 \|Beautiful Life \| Painter \|Bengali \|
Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani	Chandon Chatterjee	Hindi
Ranchi	SSP Pravin Kumar Singh \|Kannada
2024 \|Tekka	Rajiv Sanyal	rowspan="2" \|Bengali
2024 \|Chaalchitro: The Frame Fatale \|Kanishka Chatterjee (Joint Commissioner Crime)
2025 \|Police \| \| Bengali

= Television and web series =

Ekhane Aakash Neel (2008-2009) as Dr. Romit Sen
Taranath Tantrik{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/bengali/Tota-makes-a-comeback-after-15-years-on-telly/articleshow/52239582.cms|title=Tota makes a comeback after 15 years on telly|newspaper=The Times of India}}{{cite news|url=https://www.indiablooms.com/showbiz-details/B/4632/i-am-taking-baby-steps-in-bollywood-tota-roy-chowdhury.html|title=I am taking baby steps in Bollywood: Tota Roy Chowdhury|publisher=India Blooms}} (2016); based on the character created by Taradas Bandopadhyay
Sreemoyee (2019-2021) as Rohit Sen (Star Jalsa)
Feluda Pherot (Season 1) (2020) as Feluda; Webseris (Addatimes) Based on the Bengali novel Chhinnamastar Abhishap by Satyajit Ray
Feluda Pherot (Season 2)(Unreleased) as Feluda; Based on the Bengali novel 'Joto Kando Kathmandute' by Satyajit Ray
Feludar Goyendagiri (Season 1) (2022) as Feluda; Based on the Bengali novel 'Darjeeling Jomjomat' by Satyajit Ray
Nikhoj as Romit Sen (Journalist) Web series, Hoichoi{{cite web |title=Swastika Mukherjee-Tota Roy Choudhury starrer ‘Nikhoj’ to premiere next month |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/bengali/swastika-mukherjee-tota-roy-choudhury-starrer-nikhoj-to-premiere-next-month/articleshow/101658208.cms |website=The Times of India |date=13 July 2023}}
Picasso as Palash Choudhury/Picasso (Painter)(web series, KLiKK) (2023)
Jaha bolibo sottyo bolibo as Jayraj Singha; (Lawyer) Web series, Hoichoi
Nikhoj 2 as Romit Sen; (Journalist) Web series, Hoichoi
Feludar Goyendagiri (Season 2) (2024) as Feluda; web series Hoichoi; Based on the Bengali novel Bhuswargo Bhayankar by Satyajit Ray
Black Warrant

Awards

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Awards ! Category ! Title ! Result
2004 \|BFJA Award \|Best Actor \|Chokher Bali \|{{won}}
2008 \|Anandalok Awards \|Best Supporting Actor \|rowspan="2"\|Ekhane Akash Neel \|{{Won}}
2009 \|Tele Samman \|Best Actor \|{{Won}}
2012 \|Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival \|Best Supporting Actor \|Aborto \|{{won}}
2017 \|Pune Short Films Festival \|Best Actor in a Negative Role \|Ahalya \|{{won}}
2021 \|West Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards \|Best Actor \|Mukhosh \|{{won}}
2024 \|News 18 Showsha Reel Awards \|Best Supporting Actor (popular) \|Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani \|{{Won}}
2024 \|TV9 Bangla Ghorer Bioscope \|Best Actor in a Web Series \|Jaha Bolibo Satto Bolibo \|{{Won}}
2025 \|Anandalok Awards \|Best Actor in a Web Series \|Jaha Bolibo Satto Bolibo \|{{Won}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Awards

! Category

! Title

! Result

2004

|BFJA Award

|Best Actor

|Chokher Bali

|{{won}}

2008