Samrat Chakrabarti stars in Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Shiva Bajpai’s Raju, and Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti at NYIFF

Award-winning actor and musician Samrat Chakrabarti scores another trifecta starring in three short films at the Tribeca Cinemas – Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story on Friday, May 6, and Soham Mehta’s Fatakra and Shiva Bajpai's Raju on Saturday, May, 7, as part of the 11th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF).

Last year, Chakrabarti’s talents were on display in three films at the Festival. He created the score for Sundaram Tagor’s documentary The Poetics of Color: Natvar Bhavsar, and had roles in Claire McCarthy’s The Waiting City opposite Radha Mitchell and Joel Edgerton, and in Ajay Naidu’s Ashes.

The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), presented by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), is the oldest and most prestigious Indian film festival in the country. NYIFF continues through May, 8, 2011 and tickets are available online at http://www.iaac.us/nyiff2011/

Friday, May 6, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 3:30pm
Chakrabarti plays a Muslim groom about to wed a Hindu bride in New Jersey in Rehana Mirza’s Zameer & Preeti: A Love Story. When the groom gets a case of cold feet, will the wedding become just another case of religious conflict? Buy Tickets

Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 6 pm
In Soham Mehta’s Fatakra, Chakrabarti plays Naveen, who left India to chase his dreams in America. Three years and a recession later, his wife and son finally join him. Fatakra (Firecracker) tells the story of the sparks that fly on their first day together as dreams collide with reality. Chakrabarti also composed the score for the film, which has been nominated for a Student Academy Award. Buy Tickets http://www.sohammehta.com/films/fatakra/


Saturday, May 7, 2011, Tribeca Theater 1, 9.00 pm
Shiva Shankar Bajpai's Raju stars Paul Calderon, Judy Marte and Chakrabarti as an undocumented immigrant who works for a debt relief agency who must choose between the girl he’s falling for and his work visa.Buy Tickets
http://shivabajpai.com/film.html

Samrat Chakrabarti is the recipient of the 2010 TMG Award for Global Achievers in the category of Film, TV and Drama, for his outstanding body of work as an actor. Chakrabarti was named one of the Fresh Faces at TIFF by thestar.com, for his role as Krishna in Claire McCarthy’s cross-cultural drama The Waiting City, after the film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, 2009.

Linda Barnard of thestar.com wrote, “The high point of The Waiting City, about an Australian couple in Calcutta to adopt a child, is the lively and hilarious performance of Samrat Chakrabarti as Krishna, a meddlesome worker at the hotel where the Aussies stay. Befriending them and inserting himself into their lives, he digs out their secrets and gives unsolicited advice, in what seems like a typical Bollywood comic turn by an Indian actor.”

The Waiting City will be released on DVD on May 31, 2011, by Entertainment One.

Chakrabarti’s film credits include Italo Spinelli’s Gangor, Shilpa Sunthankar’s Seeta’s Demon, Joseph Mathew’s Bombay Summer, Kabir Khan’s New York, Shailja Gupta’s Walkaway, Bruce Leddy’s Sing Now, Sai Selvarajan’s Joy Lies, and Manish Acharya’s Loins of Punjab of Presents alongside Shabana Azmi. He has also had roles in in Spike Lee’s She Hate Me, Leonardo Ricagni’s Indocumentados, Jonathan Betzler’s Homecoming, Manan Katahora’s Arya, and Joseph Castelo’s The War Within which was nominated for an Indie Spirit Award. In addition, he has appeared in Gareeb Nawaz’s Taxi, Robert Harte’s Finding Graceland, Anjaan Dutt’s The Bong Connection with Victor Banerjee, Ajay Naidu’s Ashes, Sarba Das’s Karma Calling, Amyn Kaderali’s Kissing Cousins, Randall Krongard’s Override, Manan Katahora’s Arya and When Kiran Met Karen, Joseph Matthews’ Days of Love and Loss with Tanishtha Chatterjee, Raj Basu’s Piyalir Password.

New films in the can include A.J. Carter’s Extinction, Deepa Mehta’s Winds of Change, Dagen Merrill’s Murder in the Dark, Michael Walker’s Price Check, Richard Atkinson’s Dogs Lie, Salim Khassa’s Desperate Endeavors and Suman Ghosh’s Dwando.

His guest starring appearances on TV include “30 ROCK”, “Law And Order” (NBC), “Bored to Death”, “In Treatment”, “Outsourced”, “The Sopranos” (HBO), FX’s “Damages”, “Love Monkey” (CBS), “Hope and Faith” (ABC) and “The Horrible Terrible Misadventures of David Atkins”.  He has appeared onstage as Nirad Das in Indian Ink at The Missouri Repertory Theater and Arun in Lingering Voices at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Chakrabarti is also an established international musician and has won numerous awards for his music, including: a U.S. CARA for Best Original Pop/Rock Song, for his composition, “What’s It all About”.