Abhishek Banerjee’s comic timing has been beautifully
captured in films like ‘Stree’, ‘Bala’, and ‘Dream Girl’ but this ‘hero ka
dost’ displayed a different side of his acting prowess when he took up the role
of Hathoda Tyagi in ‘Paatal Lok’. There was no looking back after that as
he went on showing his different layers as an actor in multiple projects with
recent being Taapsee Pannu starrer ‘Rashmi Rocket’. In this ZEE5 film, he plays
the role of a lawyer who is fighting a battle against the gender tests
conducted on female athletes.
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“I felt angry and
that’s the only emotion I was dealing with,” he told Opoyi when asked about his
state of mind when he got to know about this test.
“… because when you read about such a law which restrains
some of our best athletes to perform and to break their confidence and to know
that we are part of that system and the society which is letting it happen then
you feel immense anger.”
Gender verification testing in sport was first introduced in
1966 by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) in response to
fears that males with a physical advantage in terms of muscle mass and strength
were cheating by masquerading as females in women’s competition. The practise
has led to unfair disqualifications of women athletes and untold psychological
harm.
Also Read: I broke down: Taapsee Pannu on’boys locker room’ scene in ‘Rashmi Rocket’
‘Rashmi Rocket’ is the first film to touch that subject. Abhishek says that the film made him believe even more
about standing against the wrongs.
“Half of the time we stop ourselves from fighting for
ourselves. I think it’s easier to fight for others but hum apne liye kum ladte
hai and that courage which Rashmi showed in the film gave me the courage to
probably voice out my opinion in life. If there is something which I will feel
is inappropriate or diminishes the fact that I am a human so probably I will
raise my voice more.”
When asked if he is intentionally picking up roles that have
different shades to it, Abhishek told Opoyi, “Yeah, what I understood about the
film industry and the common notion which is amongst the audience also in our
country is that when an actor does something particularly well and if that
becomes successful then that actor is put in a box where they can be doing those
kinds of parts or probably people will expect you to do those parts.”
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But as an actor, the one thing that he has always
learnt is that one needs to do everything properly.
“I want to use my training and
skills and that’s why I probably want to widen the horizon. I wanted to tell
the filmmakers and the audience and everyone that ‘okay don’t just categorise me
as this funny boy as I can play a negative, positive or romantic character and
I can play different parts’. That’s what I have been doing, trying and
exploring,” he said.
However, this won’t stop him from doing comic roles.
“I have a lot of comedy releases coming up. I would like to consider that my sense of humour is good even in real
life. So I would like to use that skill,” he said.
Abhishek, who is ruling the OTT platforms with back-to-back
shows and films, says gratitude is the only thing he has towards everyone who
appreciated his work.
He also credits, `Paatal Lok’ for changing people’s perception towards him as an actor.
“That show completely changed the way
people probably perceived me,” said Abhishek who was seen in recen shows like ‘Ajeeb Daastaans’, ‘Unpaused’, ‘Ankahi Kahaniyan’ and film ‘Helmet’.
So, can we now call him a settled actor?
“At the moment, I would like to call myself a busy actor as
a settled actor will take a long time. I need to grow old with that fact.
Probably when I am older, I would be telling you that okay now I am a settled
actor because I don’t have doubts, don’t have questions about my own
performances. The thing is that I am over critical about myself and my
performances and I really want to do much much better than what I am doing
today so no, I am not settled.
“ I have to work towards it and
the day I feel that now I feel the strength to get on a set without being very
nervous, that day I would like to call myself a settled actor,” he said.
Abhishek has played variety of role in the recent past but does he
expect to be as busy as he is right now when the theatre opens up?
“I actually started my career with big screen,” he said.
“ ‘Stree’, ‘Bala’, all were big and successful films. I also have
‘Bhediya’ so I am not insecure about the theatre opening up. I know that I have
already acted in that setup and I know that people will like me and filmmakers
would love to cast me in the bigger format as well.”
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“However, what is going to be difficult is that the kind of
roles that you get in OTT is irresistible, they are quite juicy, interesting,
more laid out than two hours films so the problem is how many films I am going
to do or how many those offers will be more interesting than the ones I am
getting on digital format,” he added.
Abhishek is not just an actor but also did casting for
several movies including ‘No One Killed Jessica’, ‘The Dirty Picture’, ‘Gabbar Is
Back’, ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’, ‘Secret Superstar’, among others.
When asked if there was an actor that inspires him, he said,
“Jaideep Ahlawat is a very old friend of mine and I consider him like an elder
brother. I auditioned him for the film which I was casting and it was ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai’ and he gave the audition for the character which Randeep
Hooda played later but the way he gave that audition, he was good.
“From
thereon. I kept on meeting him at the different auditions and I felt that this
is the kind of acting i want to do,” he sums up.
Abhishek and Jaideep has worked together in ‘Paatal Lok’.
