Karanvir Bohra, Iqbal Khan pay tribute to Ashiesh Roy

I remember Ashiesh Roy from the time when he had  no ‘e’ in his name. He  was talented warm, enthusiastic and  eager to be  written about . In our country only stars are  written about.  Ashiesh  was  not a star. But I made  it a  point to mention him in my film reviews.

In my  review  of one of his last feature  film Barkhaa I  wrote,  “But the film's finest performance comes from Ashish Roy as the level headed unbelievably kind bar owner. Roy imparts a natural ease to his over-sweetened part in a film where everybody strains to make an impact.”

He was  quick to respond. No word of kindness went unnoticed. Ashiesh  was starved for praise and attention. He was  a very funny  actor who could also play sombre  characters equally effectively. In Rupali Chatterjee’s Amras  his character Parimal Tripathi was named after Dharmendra’s character in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Chupke Chupke.

I lost touch with him, only to find him in the news recently for his illness and his  desperation to pay his medical  bills. It was horrifying to realize that after decades  in showbiz Ashiesh had no savings to fall back on.

Now  that Ashiesh is gone one of television’s topmost actor Iqbal Khan is very upset.

Says  Iqbal,  “In this industry, you can’t call anyone your own. It’s very regrettable. Every time a tragedy like this happens I realize that you are recognized for your work. What or who you are as a human being is strictly between you and your God.  When you work  is  going well, people recognize and acknowledge you. Once that phase passes all your good work is forgotten. I didn’t know Ashiesh  personally. I had seen a  lot of his work. May Allah bless his soul. He has finally found peace.”

Karanveer Vora can’t believe Ashiesh is gone. “Oh My God!  Is he gone? This is soo sad. Such a lively guy, full of plans. He had  ideas galore. He was always upbeat  and enthusiastic. It’s a sad sorry state of affairs. For the last ten days I’ve been depressed because my father was in the hospital. No one should be in a hospital. It’s so depressing. I hope Ashiesh was at home when the end came. Om Namah Shivay!”