Eighteen-year-old Mohammad Samad, who made such a strong impact with Tumbbad, plays the central character in the Netflix series Selection Day. Based on Booker winner Aravind Adiga’s best-selling novel, it is the story of an underprivileged small-town boy’s struggle to become a national-level cricketer.
The youngest of six siblings in a family from Roorkee, Haridwar, Mohammad’s father owns a grocery store. He made his acting debut at age of 12 in the National Award-winning film Gattu, and is now being acknowledged as a talent of substance.
Director-actor Mahesh Manjrekar, who plays a cricket coach in Selection Day, describes Samad is a natural-born actor. “He just takes over the camera. He wants to go to an acting school. I told him not to. It will only make him conscious of his skills,” says Manjrekar.
Speaking about his acting debut, Mohammad says, “When I did Gattu, I didn’t know what acting was. I am still learning. I remember, they came looking for their Gattu in our school. I was among the 20 children who were shortlisted. Finally, I was selected. I just wanted to make my parents proud. I still do.”
Mohammad’s Samad’s parents are indeed proud of their youngest born. After Gattu, he was selected to play a pivotal part in the recently-released Tumbbad. His role fetched the young actor rave reviews. Samad was only 12 when he shot for this film. He was 18 when it finally released. Now, he divides his time between his hometown in Roorkee and Mumbai. “I come here to Mumbai only when there is work,” says Mohammad.
