From Balu of 1996 released film ‘Tere Mere Sapne’ to Ishwar Prashad of 2020 film ‘Durgamati: The Myth’, actor Arshad Warsi has portrayed a gamut of roles in his career spanning almost 25 years. Whether it is his lithe dance moves, excellent comic timing, or intensely emotional characters, Arshad has won many hearts along the way.
The 51-year-old actor made a mark with his gruffy looks, slick dance moves, and acting skills in his debut film ‘Tere Mere Sapne’ that featured hit songs like ‘Kuch Mere Dilne Kaha’ and ‘Aankh Marey’. Arshad, who later went on to portray memorable roles such as Circuit of ‘Munna Bhai’ franchise, Babban in ‘Ishqiya’, Jagdish Jolly Tyagi in ‘Jolly LLB’ and Madhav in ‘Golmaal’ franchise, took the digital medium by storm in 2020 with his portrayal of Dhananjay Rajput in his debut web-series ‘Asur’ . He was also seen playing the role of a corrupt politician Ishwar Prashad in the horror film ‘Durgamati: The Myth’
When asked to sum up 2020, the actor told Opoyi, “The reality is that 2020 has been a terrible year for everybody, more for some and less for some. It feels like we all have lost a year. For me personally, it has not been a good year financially, I had made some heavy investments and the cash flow had to be maintained, but personally, it was great.”
“I always try to schedule my work keeping my kids’ holidays in mind, so that I can spend time with them. 2020 was perfect in that aspect. Professionally also it was great. Everyone was at home and my first web series ‘Asur’ released and was very well appreciated.”
For him, the biggest takeaways from the year gone by are “that one should never take anything for granted.”
“Your health is the biggest asset you have. Whether we like it or not, human beings are in some way or another dependent on each other, respect everyone,” he said, adding that he enjoyed every moment he spent with his kids.
“…and unfortunately or fortunately this was only possible in these circumstances,” said Arshad who is married to Maria Goretti and has a son and a daughter.
For an actor who can dance, make people laugh with his comic timings, and can portray varied emotions smoothly, has Arshad’’s talent been tapped properly in Bollywood? To this, the actor says, “the fact is I have never given this a thought, maybe because it has never bothered me. I am not the kind of person who is more concerned about what I don’t have than what I have and the truth is I have way more than I bargained for, so no it doesn’t bother me.”
He adds “work-wise I feel I have so much more to offer than the opportunities I have got, but I am positive, I see people offering me roles that I thought I’ll never be offered.”
It won’t be wrong to say that no Munnabhai is complete without his Circuit and the same holds true for his other roles like Babban from Ishqiya. When asked what sets Arshad the actor apart from his contemporaries, he said, “all actors have their methods of doing their job, which works for them and our film industry has some of the best talents one has seen. I believe in the form of acting where your acting is not visible.”
He agrees that 2020 came as a breather for stars like him with such vast opportunities in digital space.
“I am so grateful to the makers of ‘Asur’ and ‘Durgamati’ for giving me an opportunity to do the kind of acting I like but don’t get it. I am so looking forward to the second season of ‘Asur’,” he said and added that he is keeping his fingers crossed for more such roles.
Now we all are in 2021 so did he decide on a New Year resolution?
“I usually never make any resolutions, I always feel why do you have to wait for a new year to make any resolutions, but this year I have. I have decided to get back in shape. I have not been very nice to myself and my appearance in the past few years. I need to start behaving like an actor, a bit late but then it’s never too late,” he sums up on this inspiring note.
