By Yashika Mathur

Mumbai, Jul 1 (IANS): Actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya, who was recently seen in the anthology series "Ray", inspired by the writings of Satyajit Ray, recalls the time when he actually dialled the late auteur's number.

"I once dialled him up back in the nineties and he picked up the phone at the other end! But I chickened out and kept it down," recalls the actor, who hails from Kolkata.

Dibyendu, who made a mark with roles in "Dev.D", "Criminal Justice" and "Undekhi", says being a part of Ray's work is a dream come true. He is seen in the second story of "Ray", titled "Bahrupiya". He plays a Muslim seer, whose presence changes the entire story of the protagonist.

"When I was offered a movie that is inspired by Ray, my first thought was how I have grown up on films from him and literature by him. He is such a huge name across the world because of the work he has done. There's no artiste who wouldn't be associated with Satyajit Ray since childhood," Dibyendu tells IANS.

The actor also hopes more films are adapted from and inspired by literature.

"I am very grateful when I get a chance to work on literature, as we have such diverse and quality literature in our country. We should take more from Ray as he has a gift that needs to be explored, and we need to bring back the culture of adapting literature into films," he says.

In "Ray", Dibyendu once again shares screen space with Kay Kay Menon. The two had earlier worked together in films such as "Black Friday" and "Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi".

Talking about the bond he shares with Kay Kay as co-stars, Dibyendu says: "We have a bonding, and know each other's temperament. We've spent a lot of time together during the first film we worked on. On the sets, it resumed from where we left it and that's how it is with friends. It is always a delight to work with him, he is a fantastic actor.''