Ashiesh Roy leaves GEC show for Disney!

In probably a first of sorts, it is reported that an actor is leaving a GEC (Sony) show to appear in a non-GEC (Disney) serial. Yes, it's true - Ashiesh Roy, who has been portraying Pratyusha Bannerjee's father in the popular Sony channel daily Hum Hain Na, has reportedly put in his papers to be able to do a Disney show  Goldie Ahuja - Matric Pass, which shall begin telecast  from February 1.

When contacted, Roy confirmed the news. "Yes I'm parting ways with Hum Hain Na. And it is totally amicable. My niece Maahika wanted to see me on Disney, so here I am." Such a major decision - and that too, at the request of a child? "Have you seen the child?" quipped Ashiesh. "She's an adorable 8-year-old, who has me totally completely around her finger!"

Elaborating more upon his new venture, Ashiesh said that is was the hero of the show Ashwin Kaushal, who recommended his name for the role. "I got a call from the production house saying that I had to come in for a meeting as Ashwin had absolutely insisted on having me on board. And once the economics were sorted, I was signed on. It was really sweet of Ashwin to do what he did, and I owe this one completely to him!"

Lately, Ashiesh seems to have cornered the market for playing Bengali characters - and the new show too has him portraying yet another Bengali character. "True that! After Jeannie Aur Juju, people seem to have woken up to the unique charm of Bengali characters. And since my character in Jeannie Aur Juju became very popular, I seem to be the automatic choice for portraying Bengali characters! In Goldy Ahuja Matric Pass, I play a science teacher who simply cannot stand Goldy Ahuja (Ashwin Kaushal), and ends up locking horns with him at every conceivable occasion. The back story is that when both of them were in school, Goldy used to perpetually bully my character, and now, years later, when Goldy has to come back to school to complete his studies according to the instructions of his dying uncle, he finds me as the science teacher in the same school! And there's no way I am going to let his graduate! Very funny story. Totally loving it."

And the real bonus is that he gets to shoot with a lot of kids, who have already started imitating his "funny" accent and mannerisms on the set. Ashiesh concludes that "when kids like you, then you're doing something right. Now I only wish that my niece likes me too!"