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Nandita Das: Actors Get Immediately Stereotyped!
Actress-director Nandita Das says it doesn't take long for actors to get stereotyped and so, she empathises with those "stars" who refused to play the second lead in her upcoming directorial "Manto".
Actress-director Nandita Das says it doesn't take long for actors to get stereotyped and so, she empathises with those "stars" who refused to play the second lead in her upcoming directorial Manto. Nandita had earlier said that it wasn't a piece of cake to finalise the cast of Manto, which she describes as "totally a labour of love". She had presumed that there will be "young charming actors" in abundance to play Manto's closest friend Shyam in the movie, but she says "all stars" whom she approached said "no" for the fear of looking like a second lead.
Asked
about
it,
Nandita
told
IANS
over
the
phone
from
Mumbai:
"They
(actors)
also
have
pressures.
They
feel
'Oh,
I
will
be
seen
as
the
second
lead.'
I'm
happy
with
the
person
whom
we
have
found.
It's
not
about
being
the
second
lead.
That
character
is
very
crucial
in
the
film.
The
story
is
always
bigger
than
one
role."
"We (actors) have challenges of working in our industry. There is a certain perception. I understand and I empathise with them. If you play the second lead, you are branded as that. If somebody plays a villain, you are branded as that. You do certain kind of roles, and then you get immediately stereotyped."
Nawazuddin Siddiqui essays the role of Saadat Hasan Manto in the film, which is based on the late Urdu short story writer. The latest one to join the film's cast is Chandan Roy Sanyal, known for movies like Kaminey and D-Day.
So, is Chandan playing Shyam in the period drama? "Chandan is not playing Shyam. That is an assumption. He is playing another writer. The name of the actor who is playing Shyam will be revealed soon," said Nandita, whose "Between The Lines" was one of the first CinePlays, a new storytelling format, to go live on Hotstar -- a video-on-demand app -- earlier this month. "Manto" will go on floors from March 15.
