Ameet Chana is still in touch with his 'EastEnders' co-stars.
Ameet Chana remembers his EastEnders stint
The 47-year-old actor enjoyed a two-year stint as Adi Ferreira on the BBC One soap opera from 2003 until 2005 and explained that because he spent more time with his on-screen family than his own when sticking to the busy shooting schedule, he is still "very much in touch" with them today.
He told Metro newspaper's SixtySeconds column: "For over two years they became my first family, because for 12 hours a day, for five or six days a week, I saw more of them than my own. And we had the same fun and the same amount of feuds that a real family would have. Just the other day I was talking to Nabil Elouahabi who played Tariq, who ended up being our half-brother, because it was his birthday and he turned 50. And Ray Panthaki, who played my younger brother, Ronny, we’re still very much in touch.
"I work for the Rifco Theatre Company as an associate director and I contacted Raji James, who played my older brother, about doing a reading for us. We don’t often all hang out at the same time, but we do our best to stay in touch."
Ameet went on to add that while he is sometimes still recognised for his role as Adi, he is more often remembered for playing Tony in the 2002 comedy 'Bend It Like Beckham' opposite
Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley.
He said: "While UK Gold existed, I always knew when our episodes were on, because you’d suddenly get people on the street recognising you again. But definitely 'Bend It Like Beckham' still lives with me. It’s going to be 21 years old this April. It’s magically timeless. On the surface, it’s about a young Indian girl who wants to play football but, subliminally, that film is about anyone who’s wanted to do something, who had restrictions in doing it, chasing their dream."
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