Beyond duty, cops don grease paint, take up pen to pursue their passions
Times of India | 1 December 2025
Kolkata: They are donning the police uniform to perfection. One of them handled anti-terror operations at the KP STF and the riots at Behala following a fatal accident with equal ease while another was attacked during the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital last year and was asked to handle the Hok Kolorob agitation. The third is currently leading an entire commissionerate after leading the detective department of Kolkata Police for years. Yet, beyond their duty, they have found the time — and the drive — to turn to acting, storytelling, and song composing this past year, proving that the men in khaki and white do know how to follow their passion.
OSD Alok Sanyal, having recently retired as a DCP, is now involved in community policing and is also very much an integral part of the Kolkata Police Commissioner's office. Yet Sanyal, as an actor, has already had a very busy year, being part of popular OTT series like ‘Birangana', ‘Bibhishon', and ‘Advocate Achintya Aich'. He was also part of multiple movies, including ‘Benaras e Eken', ‘Dawshom Awbotaar', and ‘Killbill Society'. Sanyal is awaiting his next releases, ‘Waiting Room' and ‘Loho Gouranger Naam Re'.
"I always put my job as top priority. But I decided to pursue my hobbies, too. I shoot on weekends. I shoot late at night and early in the morning. When I work, I give my very best. When I shoot, I give my very best too. I enjoy both jobs and do not see any conflict between the two," Sanyal said.
"The way the work of the police is portrayed is far from what we really do. But then, good stories need to be told the way they are visualised," said Sanyal, who started acting when in school.
In 2016, when Alok Sanyal was posted as the assistant commissioner of traffic police, he made his screen debut with an ad film, but his breakthrough into feature films came with Srijato's ‘Manobjomin' in 2023.
Debasis Datta, the OC at Maniktala Police Station, was recognised for penning ‘Mrigaya'. Two of his short films were showcased last year at the Kolkata International Film Festival, one of them has him as a lyricist too.
"I am OC of Maniktala PS. Hence, I chose the oddest times to shoot — sometimes 4 am, sometimes post 11 pm," said Datta.
Dutta's short film ‘Shiva', which has been to 39 film fests across the world, deals with the footballing aspirations of a slum kid while ‘Tel' (oiling) deals with the corporate rat race. In addition, his story is being turned in to a crime thriller which will use two songs written by him. Another film project is set to use two more songs written by him.
Murlidhar Sharma, the commissioner of Barrackpore Police, does not wish to talk much about the song he composed for ‘Mrigaya'. "I am a Ghazal writer. I write Urdu poetry. I write what comes to my mind. It (the film song) just happened," said Murlidhar.