In the second season of Freedom at Midnight that is filled with earnest performances, Abhishek Banerjee’s cameo comes as a surprise. The actor plays a rioter, fuelled by revenge after having lost his pregnant wife to communal conflict, who eventually surrenders himself to Gandhi in showrunner and director Nikkhil Advani’s series. Anyone watching the sequence will be reminded of Om Puri’s character in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982), in which the late actor played a rioter, Nahari, who tells Gandhi to end his hunger strike. Interestingly, talking to mid-day, Banerjee revealed that stepping into the role was his way of paying homage to Puri.
Abhishek Banerjee in the second season of ‘Freedom at Midnight’
“Playing this cameo in Freedom at Midnight 2 was never about the size of the role for me. It was about what it stood for. Om Puri saab is someone I have admired immensely — for his craft, fearlessness, and the dignity he brought to every character. Stepping into a space that echoes a role he once played felt like a quiet tribute to his legacy,” shared the actor. Admitting that he has a long journey before he can match Puri’s craft, he added, “This remains my heartfelt tribute to him.”
Om Puri in ‘Gandhi’
Banerjee, who appears in the third episode, shot for the portion with co-star Chirag Vohra in August 2024. Even when he was approached by Advani for the brief role, the actor understood that it came with immense responsibility since the character was associated with Puri in public memory. But it wasn’t a pressure he carried to the set. Banerjee added, “There can never be a replacement for Om Puri saab, and I’d never see it that way. For me, it was about approaching the role with sincerity and restraint, qualities he embodied so effortlessly. Even though it’s a cameo, there is an emotional weight attached to it, and I wanted to honour that with honesty.”
Third
The episode in which Abhishek Banerjee’s character appears amid the Calcutta riots
Did you know?
‘Gandhi’ (1982), led by Ben Kingsley, won eight Academy Awards out of its 11 nominations