The actor shares why some in the film industry cannot think of him as ‘marketable’
Mumbai: From playing the broody musician in Fukrey to a trigger happy gangster in Mirzapur, actor Ali Fazal has many critically acclaimed roles under his belt. As he sat down for a chat with MyNation he confessed that there are people in the film industry, who are unable to depend upon him as a ‘marketable’ actor.
The actor said, “A producer told me last year that you are a confused brand, I don’t know how to market an entire film on you. Today there are some people who are still risking it on me. I have done two films recently.” Referring to his latest Amazon Prime web series Mirzapur, the actor said, “For someone like Amazon and Excel to take a chance on me, imagine me as somebody which they have not seen me as, that’s big. I want good content, I want to work in good scripts.”
The 32-year-old, who plays gangster Guddu Pandit in the series, revealed that he didn’t get much time to prepare for Mirzapur after he was approached for the role. Ali shared, “I was promoting Victoria & Abdul at the time I came on board Mirzapur. So, all my preparation happened on a 16-hour-long flight. Mentally, I had to prepare. When I came on board the first day of the shoot, my body was also not fully prepared, the way I would have liked it to be. So, my body posture changed to accommodate that. It had to be intimidating in every way. I was feeling scared that everybody is looking at me, perhaps they are thinking that I am incompetent. These were the things going on in my head as we are very insecure people. But sometimes when you get to use those things to your advantage, magic happens!”
During the conversation, Ali stressed the importance of developing a good rapport with co-stars while working on a project. He said, “My job becomes easier when my co-actors are good. A lot of people do not think this way. I just hope they do so. Because, when you start competing, the egos come in and you want to have more screen time. That screws everything up.”
Vikrant Massey plays Ali Fazal’s brother Bablu Pandit in the crime thriller. Talking about working with the A Death In The Gunj actor, Ali said, “I think my compatibility with Vikrant was important for playing the character. I met him on day one (of the shoot) and we just hit it off. We have never met before. Our chemistry is very important.”
The Fukrey actor reveals that he now knows how to handle them. He said, “I did a film called Always Kabhi Kabhi, Shah Rukh Khan had produced it. I was playing the lead. It came with seven more films and bombed. I had put in two years and had hopes about it. But that trained me (to handle failures).”
Ali has worked in a few international projects and Hollywood films. Sharing his experience of working on the ‘other side’, the Furious 7 actor said, “I have also kept a foot on the other side of the world. I am very happy because I got introduced to a very democratic process on the other side. I am still grappling with it and very excited about it. I think the world is changing with the content and it is a great time for actors and directors. I have just completed two films and working on two more international films, one of which is a biopic.”
So, does the Fazal plan to try anything else apart from acting? And the answer is a ‘Yes!’ Ali is turning director with his first short film, which he is presently working on. Shoot starts next month for the short which has also been written by Ali Fazal.
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