From cricket to silver screen: Silchar actor shines at Portugal’s Tribeca Festival Lisboa

An actor, writer, cricketer, and a brutally honest individual. What keeps him routed and grounded? For Rajdeep Choudhury who hails from Assam's Silchar and is now based in London, it's cricket.

"Cricket has taught me humility," Rajdeep tells The Assam Tribune. "It shows you can fail one day and succeed the next. It taught me teamwork, discipline, and how to handle jealousy, Cricket made me grounded, and those lessons still guide me in acting and in life."

Tribeca spotlight

Rajdeep plays the protagonist in the film A Teacher's Gift, which has been officially selected for the Tribeca Festival Lisboa. Born from the spirit of the iconic Tribeca Festival in New York, the Lisbon edition celebrates the power of stories to spark conversations, shift culture, and connect people. The festival starts on October 30.

Directed by Artur Ribeiro and produced by Eric Ollerenshaw, A Teacher's Gift brings together a global ensemble, including Anthony Calf, Anjali Patil, Dhruv Sehgal, Varun Buddhadev, Virgilio Castelo, Jacinta Mulcahy, Anita Booth, and Paula Lobe Antunes.

Rajdeep portrays Rohan, a Hindi teacher in London whose classroom confidence masks deeper complexities. The character's backstory-a boy who once gave temple tours in his village, spoke fluent English despite difficult circumstances, and found solace in reading - creates a rich foundation for Rajdeep's nuanced performance.

Cricket before camera

Now based in London, Rajdeep has shared cricket fields with the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Jaffer, and Monty Panesar. An opening batter for his Middlesex club, in 2024 he was named Best Player of the Year after scoring more than 350 runs in the Premier League season. "Cricket plays a major role in my life, not only as an actor but also in how I handle myself every day," he says.

Rajdeep Choudhury playing cricket

How A Teacher's Gift came alive

"The idea came to me just after the Covid pandemic. I am predominantly an actor, but by then I had already done a few Indan films, some British films for the BBC, and British adverts. Still, I felt I needed to upgrade my skills, so I studied writing," Rajdeep recalls.

He went on to make two short films- London Pandit and Jackpot-earning appreciation for their cross-cultural narratives.

Through a Portuguese diplomat friend, Rajdeep connected with director Artur Ribeiro. "I was looking for directors in India and the UK but couldn't connect with many. When I saw Ribeiro's work, I was impressed.

Since the project involved India, the UK, and Portugal, it became bigger than I had imagined," he says.

The team shot in India and the UK, with music from Vienna and Prague, and a largely Portuguese technical crew. "It became truly international," Rajdeep says.

Looking ahead

Rajdeep has wrapped up Second Chance, a detective thriller with veteran actor Zakir Hussain and directed by Sachin Karande. He also has a sci-fi project with Akshara Haasan and Satyajeet Dubey.

But what excites him most is his recent work in China with director Andrew Lau, one of Hong Kong's best-known filmmakers. "To work with him was a dream. We shot in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Foshan with huge set-ups - sometimes 16 cameras on set. I also acted alongside British actor Toby Stephens, son of Maggie Smith. The experience was unforgettable," Rajdeep says.

Roots in Silchar

Rajdeep traces his earliest influence to his late mother, Rubi Choudhury, who introduced him to tabla and music even as he preferred cricket. "At that time, I hated it, but today I'm grateful. It gave me rhythm and a sense of music. I still play tabla and harmonium," he says.

He keeps her photo with him wherever he goes. "On film sets, in hotels, in London or Mumbai - it travels with me. My films may or may not succeed, but as a person, I don't want to let her down. That is my guiding motto."

Growing up at Premtola in Silchar, he would buy film magazines and dream of becoming an actor. That dream took shape only after he moved to London, joined drama school, and landed his first break in Arbaaz Khan's film in 2018.

Since then, roles in Dangerous with Bipasha Basu, Mister Mummy with Riteish Deshmukh, and IRah with Rohit Roy have followed. With A Teacher's Gift now set for a prestigious global stage, Rajdeep's journey reflects both the discipline of cricket and the resilience of an artiste still hungry for more.