‘Maa’: How Surjasikha Das found her wings in Mumbai

Jorhat, July 20: For Surjasikha Das, the word Maa is more than just the title of her latest film. It is the very soul of her journey — a tribute to the woman who stood by her when dreams were all she had.

“My mother gave me wings to fly,” Surjasikha told The Assam Tribune over the phone from Mumbai. “And now Maa is my biggest break so far. It’s a beautiful coincidence, isn’t it?”

The actor from Guwahati plays the emotionally intense role of Nandini in ‘Maa’, a recently released Hindi-language mythological horror film from Ajay Devgn Productions, directed by Vishal Furia. Kajol plays the lead in the film, which has already caught attention for its haunting narrative. Surjasikha’s portrayal of a mother to an 11-year-old child in the film is a far cry from her own age — and an even further cry from glamour.

“It’s not a glamorous part at all. But it made me grow as a person,” she says. “I started to feel how a mother experiences life, how my own mother may have endured things silently. It helped me understand her better.”

Surjasikha’s own mother, Niru Das, is a retired teacher from Railway Higher Secondary School in Panbazar. She is also Surjasikha’s everything — her parent, guide, best friend and confidante.

“I owe her everything,” Surjasikha says, her voice softening. “She had more faith in me than I had in myself. When I got the call for ‘Maa’, she cried, tears of happiness. So did I. She said, ‘God has opened His eyes upon you… Your hard work is finally being seen.’ That moment is etched in my heart.”

While ‘Maa’ marks her biggest cinematic leap yet, the journey started with small steps — and pure grit. Surjasikha moved to Mumbai in 2019, without a single connection in the industry and no formal training in acting. “I just knew I had to try. If I failed, at least I would have no regrets,” she says.

Armed with the education from Saint Mary’s English High School and Cotton College in Guwahati, and an MBA from Bangalore, she took a leap of faith. “Coming from a middle-class family, it was not easy,” she recalls. “My father was quite strict. They wanted me to be a doctor or a banker. But acting was always in my heart.”

To survive, she scouted audition locations, browsed forums, and submitted herself to the grind. “I knocked on every door. It was mentally exhausting,” she says. Then came the breakthrough — a solo advertisement for IndusInd Bank, just two months after she arrived in the city. “It was a big thing for me. Among so many, the director picked my audition.”

What followed were more opportunities — roles that slowly stitched together a career. She played Debolina Sengupta, Vir Das’s sister, in ‘Call Me Bae’ on Amazon Prime; appeared in the international web series ‘Al Boom’ in the UAE; and had a negative lead role in ‘Bade Achhe Lagte Hain’ Season 3, opposite Nakul Mehta. Other appearances include ‘The Trial’ and ‘The Night Manager’ on Hotstar, ‘Parth Aur Jugnu’ on Zee5, and ‘Happily Ever After’ by Zoom Studios. She also returned to her roots with the Assamese web series ‘Trojan’ on Reeldrama.

Advertisements too found her face — India Gate, Zomato, HDFC Bank, Furlenco, Dunzo — each project adding a brick to her foundation.

Yet, it is ‘Maa’ that has marked a turning point — both professionally and personally. “It’s the role that has changed me. I could relate to the rawness of the character — her strength, her fears, her resolve. I drew a lot from my childhood memories, how my mother used to react in different situations.”

Working with Kajol, she says, was both inspiring and intimidating. “She’s so quick, so alert. It probably comes with experience. I’d love to develop that kind of sharpness in my craft.”

As for what lies ahead, Surjasikha wants to explore strong, complex characters — “more authoritative ones,” she says. “Maybe a cop, maybe a gangster… something like Ranbir Kapoor in ‘Animal’. I want to push my limits.”

For now, though, she remains grounded — a daughter who hasn’t forgotten who believed in her first.

“It was only my mother,” she says. “She didn’t know the industry. But she told me, ‘I know nothing about this world… but I believe you’ll do well. I’ll always be there.’ That faith gave me everything.”

And so, ‘Maa’ is not just a film. It is, in every sense, the story of Surjasikha Das.