I always wanted to act: singer Papon

Playback singer Papon, who is making his acting debut with Assamese film 'Rodor Sithi', says facing the camera was always his first choice as he is fascinated by the idea of playing a different person onscreen.
Papon is donning the character of a professor in the Bahrul Islam directed film, which shows the importance of relationships in life.
"I am enjoying acting. I always liked the whole idea of acting. Right from my childhood, I was very much intrigued by the idea of portraying different characters which might be opposite to what I am in real life. Bahrul (director) made me quite comfortable with my character," Papon told PTI.

Born to singer couple Khagen and Archana Mahanta, Papon made his way to Bollywood with his soulful renditions 'Jiyein Kyun' (Dum Maaro Dum), 'Kyon' (Barfi!) and 'Sun le re' (Madras Cafe).
In 'Rodor Sithi' he is lending his voice for three songs with singer Zubeen, who is donning the hats of an actor and music director.
Both of them, however, do not share any screen space in the film.

"It's sad that we haven't worked together in a single shot. In the film, I am playing the character of Zubeen's father. We only sang few songs together because Zubeen is also the music director of the film," Papon said.

The singer grabbed the opportunity to star in the film because he found the subject of conserving the nature in the backdrop of relationships close to his heart.
"I got many offers in the past. But I selected this film as my debut because I always believe in the concept of nature conservation. When you give a serious message through any source of entertainment then it is accepted well in the society," Papon said.
The film, which is expected to hit theatres by early next year, has been shot in Assam and Meghalaya.
Founder member of folk-fusion band East India Company, Papon feels that Assamese cinema still has to go a long way to make its presence felt in the international scenario.

"Assamese cinema is in its early stage of evolution. People are making effort but there is still a huge gap because there are many mediocre films as well," he said.
Asked if he is interested to act in a Bollywood project in future, the singer said, "I am very much open to Bollywood also. But, I have to train myself a lot in terms of singing and acting. There is no planning as such and I am just going with the flow.