Browse Sections

• Education
• Special reports

Top doc breaks in to Bollywood

9/ 7/2008

A TOP Oldham doctor who has dedicated the best part of his career to saving the lives of others has made a new name for himself as a gangster and murderer.

Mahesh Kumar, who is a radiologist at the Royal Oldham, decided to take a month away from his hi-tech screening job after the opportunity arose to be part of a potential Bollywood blockbuster.

The 43-year-old flew out to film in Bangalore and finally got to see the results of his efforts at a London premiere last week.

A keen actor as a student, Dr Kumar jumped at the chance when a friend – who is now a film director – offered him a role in the thriller called ‘Accident’.

His character, Mahesh Longa, which was also his college nickname, is a rogue with a nightclub and pirate DVD empire.

Dr Kumar, who has been based at Oldham for eight years and is now head of radiology at Pennine Acute Trust, said: "Some of my friends in film production said the role would suit me, and did I want to do it? I simply couldn’t resist it.

"I used my annual leave to film in Bangalore for 20 days and this included acting and voice dubbing. It’s really exciting to see the film released here."

Filmed in the Indian language of Kannada, which is not widely spoken here, the film will be shown with English subtitles when it appears in the North West at the weekend.

A father-of-two, Dr Kumar has already been approached about another two roles, but he says that he has no plans for a career change.

Dr Kumar said: "Acting gives me a real buzz and everyone should have a hobby to help them cope with stress.  Nothing would take me away from my clinical work, but this was a great thing to do. I had a fantastic time."

l ‘Accident’ will be showing at Cineworld Valley, Bolton, from Saturday for three days.