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Odia-origin Boy Bags The Lead Role In BBC Series





Odia-origin Boy Bags The Lead Role In BBC Series

Odisha is a land of talent and budding stars in the making. Adding on to the list is Krish Misra of Odia origin who was born and brought up in London. His parents Kaustubh Misra and Mona Dash are from Odisha. He is currently playing the one of the four leads in BBC TV series Silverpoint. This is his second break as a professional actor after Invasion, a high budget production from Apple TV+. My City  Links caught up with the child star and his mother to know more about his journey in acting so far and his life.

Throwing light on his current project, Silverpoint, he shared, “This is a 13 episode, brand new science fiction mystery adventure series revolving around some kids at a summer camp who find something strange in the woods and attempt to hide it from the world. It is slated to be out in early 2022. That’s is all I can say about it for now.”

A child with a keen interest in acting and finding innovation in the world of theatre at a very young age, Krish has grabbed the attention of his teachers and schoolmates alike. “I have always been very enthusiastic about acting. I like to add my own element to it and bring out the best in whatever small or big role that I am a part of. My first venture into acting was in school when I was 9 years old.  My character, Uncle John, had only two or three dialogues and that really disappointed me. However I decided to add a unique touch to its delivery and it turned out pretty well. Apparently, my acting and mannerism connected with the audience and I was praised for my small but impactful performance,” laughed the 14 year old star.

His mother informed that he had been acting in school plays and was praised by his drama and elocution teachers, both in the junior and senior school. “His teachers called me and my husband and told us about his potential in acting and suggested that we encourage his foray into the world of professional acting. The Indian-ness in me was skeptical about this. I too believe that my child should be an engineer or doctor. But when I saw the spark in him and his keenness towards this art, I came around to the idea,” his mother laughed, while sharing her irrational doubt.

In his final year of junior school, which is grade 6, he auditioned and got the role of Mr. Toad from the classic Wind in the Willows for his school play, which was enacted outdoors. “Krish’s energy and the lovely summer evening made the performance a brilliant one. His fun and innovative rendition of Mr. Toad was the talk of the show and he received accolades from all. The headmaster too wrote him a special congratulatory letter praising him for the performance. This spoke lengths about his talent and moreover the interest and dedication that he has,” she added.

His talent has been recognized and he has been awarded on several occasions like in the Bromley and Beckenham festivals. He also won the drama cup in junior school and is a drama scholar in his current school. “Shakespeare’s Globe Guardian invited the general public to join leading actors in performing three of Shakespeare’s iconic speeches from their places of quarantine: As You Like It, Hamlet and The Tempest, to commemorate his birth anniversary. Krish’s drama teacher sent the call to his students, and Krish sent his rendition of All the World’s A Stage. It was shocking for all of us to know that his tape was shortlisted,” she shared.

Giving us an insight on how he got his first break in his first series, Invasion, he shared, “That summer, I enrolled myself for APT (Acting Process Technique), a short acting course, from She Soars Productions, which taught us about making self-tapes and the professional side of acting. When the team of Invasion set out an open audition call link, our acting teacher forwarded it to all the students and I sent in my self-tape. I was selected after two auditions and the casting directors were very surprised knowing that I had not done any professional acting, nor had an agent, and yet landed the role. Invasion is based on an alien invasion which is chronicled from multiple perspectives around the world.”

Watch the trailer of Invasion here:

His mother shared that the world of acting is very competitive, and many children try to enter into it at very early ages, so getting selected with a first self-tape is very unusual. A London based agent then signed him up, she added.

Besides doing the short acting course of APT, Krish is now certified for LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts ) Level 6. LAMDA is a certification offered in the UK, to improve standards in communication through the spoken word, foster an appreciation of literature, poems and drama, and acknowledge levels of achievement. He recently won a place in the National Youth Theatre, London, but couldn’t take it up due to his prior shooting commitments.

Invasion was shot in the north of England adhering to all the covid protocols and safeguarding each of the members from being infected with the deadly coronavirus. They basically lived in a giant bubble all throughout the shoot. “It was really fun to meet the rest of the cast, many being established young actors. And it was all very jolly and carefree. One incident which was really embarrassing for me was when I accidentally fell into a pit during a shoot, but everybody laughed it off and it just became a humorous behind the scenes moment for all of us,” chuckled the 14 year old bundle of cuteness. The pandemic was indeed a hurdle and many shoots had to be canceled or postponed owing to the severity of the virus, he added.

A bright student academically as well, his mother makes sure that he does not miss out on his education. “Last year, most of the shooting was done in the summer holidays so his school wasn’t compromised. But this year it was different. But a very good thing here is that the production team hires a dedicated tutor for child artists on the set to study. The school and the tutor coordinate with each other and carry on with the lessons. His current tutor is very cooperative and determined to keep him up with the school. So the issue of Krish lagging behind academically is removed,” she clarifies.

Although he does not have any specific actor or individual to derive inspiration from, he believes in standing out and creating a name and space for himself. Nevertheless, he does enjoy Kevin Hart as a comedian and Tom Hardy and Steve Carrell. He hasn’t currently signed up for any other project and is eagerly waiting for the two series to be aired. Invasion is slated to be released on 22nd October, 2021 while Silverpoint will be released in early 2022.

For Krish, Odisha means his family. The delicacies, the love and the warmth he feels here with his grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts, is what keeps him connected. Despite the heat and the mosquitoes, he wishes to visit Bhubaneswar and Cuttack soon when the pandemic is under control and indulge in his favourite aloo bhaja and macha bhaja. Like most of the boys his age, he loves his playstation and enjoys playing football, cricket and squash.

His mother, Mona Dash, is an acclaimed writer herself. Daughter of the well-known Odia poet, writer and translator, Mamata Dash, she has penned several novels. “After moving to London, I got placed in an international company and the journey has been self-made and satisfactory since then. London is a very diverse city and there is a huge talent pool. Having published my work in England is really very inspiring for myself. My new short collection ‘Let Us Look Elsewhere’ was published in June 2021. Prior to this, my memoir ‘A Roll of the Dice’, which is actually a story of my journey to motherhood, and hence a lot about Krish, was published in 2019 and won an international award as well. I had also received a debut poet of excellence medal in the House of Lords, from a diaspora foundation. Many of my short stories have been listed and won various competitions in the UK. My work has been published in journals, and more than 22 anthologies. These are some of the precious treasures of my life and I aspire to continue and learn more,” she shared.

My City Links wishes this mother-son duo a brighter future ahead and hope that they continue outshining themselves in the international arena. 

Author: Aafreen Firdaus

Aafreen is a doting mother to several kitties and a doggo who loves to pamper everyone with delicious food. She is a free spirit and a wizard of words and she loves to tell beautiful stories through her writing. She is also a loving and caring soul, always ready to pitch in with a helping hand and a smile on her face.

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