Actor Namit Das picked up how to make shoes while working on the Mira Nair web series, A Suitable Boy. He now says shoemaking could be his alternative profession!

In Nair's series, Namit plays Haresh Khanna, a shoemaker, a businessman and one of the suitors of Lata, the lead character played by Tanya Maniktala.

For the sake of authenticity, Namit learnt the process of shoemaking right from cutting the leather to fixing the sole of a shoe.

"I went to a factory that makes shoes in Navi Mumbai to understand the mechanised process of shoemaking. After that, I went to a 'desi' cobbler near JJ Flyover and kept visiting him for eight days. I sat with him on the pavement and learnt how to make a shoe. I know how to make a shoe and if I ever gave it a try it could be my alternative profession. I could be Haresh Khanna for real," the actor said.

"This self-prescribed prep brought me closer to the tradition of shoemaking and how important shoes are. The profession is toilsome, it makes your back and hands ache for days, but I'm glad I learnt it for 'A Suitable Boy'," he added.

Namit will next be seen in the digital film "Aafat-E-Ishq" co-starring Neha Sharma and Deepak Dobriyal.