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EXCLUSIVE! Abhishek Banerjee Aims To Be An Actor Beyond Boundaries: I Want To Work In Many Languages
Abhishek Banerjee recently seen in Helmet is currently waiting for the release of two feature films, Netflix release Ankahi Kahaniya and Taapsee Pannu's Rashmi Rocket
Abhishek Banerjee recently seen in Helmet is currently waiting for the release of two feature films, Netflix release Ankahi Kahaniya and Taapsee Pannu's Rashmi Rocket. The actor recently had a candid conversation with Filmibeat about his plans for his acting career as well as garnering a huge fan following only after two years of Stree.
Talking about acting in films like Rang De Basanti and Bombay Talkies, Abhishek told Filmibeat, that "was to gain experience of working in front of the camera. I wasn't building a career. I took a conscious effort to do that in 2018. But all the small roles that I took and the experience that I gained then, is helping me today. Today I am comfortable working in front of the camera is because I spent time on sets of many good films."
Take a look at the excerpts from the interview,
You
have
three
movies
releasing
back
to
back,
how
are
you
feeling
about
Helmet,
Rashmi
Rocket
and
Ankahi
Kahaniya
hitting
the
screens?
I
am
very
excited
because
everyone
in
2020-21
has
been
under
tremendous
pressure.
We
have
just
been
waiting
and
watching,
there
are
so
many
feelings
attached
to
this
kind
of
situation.
At
the
end
of
the
day,
as
an
actor,
I
was
really
worried.
After
one
year
of
being
at
home,
there
were
no
work
offers
and
I
hadn't
been
on
screen
for
a
while.
I
feel
like
you
can
only
plan
ahead
after
you
have
some
projects
to
show
for
and
based
on
the
success
of
those
performances.
These three films coming out back to back is giving me a breather but I don't want it. It's easier if you find out the pass or fail verdict all at once, but now we will find out one after the other. I am proud of all these projects and I have done something different in all of them. There is a comedy, romance and one is a social drama. I am just waiting for the audience's reaction.
A couple of years ago, having an entire movie based on selling condoms seemed like it would never happen, but now we have great actors like yourself exploring the story without any pushback. While big cities have accepted a lot of stories like these, rural India is still iffy about openly discussing such topics. Do you think movies help make it easier for the masses to accept taboos?
Films definitely help, I believe films should be made with an intention of bringing change in our society. Films are not just fiction, they stem from reality and affect reality. It's written by real people who go through different experiences. On one side we talk about how modern and accepting we are. It's the 21st century and even kids grow up using phones but the truth is nobody wants to talk about where these kids are coming from. We have such a huge population but sex is still looked at as if it's a bad thing. Even sex education is only about how to avoid it, if it was possible to avoid it we wouldn't have such a big population. People should be able to talk about these things openly, why do we have to be so scared to ask for a condom at a shop. The film is just trying to talk about it and creates awareness.
During the pandemic, you took over the OTT space and your name is being mentioned among other stars like Jaideep Alhawat, Pankaj Tripathi, Manoj Bajpayee. We have seen you in plenty of other movies before OTT but, how do you look at this fame that came in the past year?
I have worked for a little while, not really a decade. I took a few small roles like in films like Rang De Basanti, Go Goa Gone, Dev D, Bombay Talkies but that was to gain experience of working in front of the camera. I wasn't building a career, I took conscious effort to do that in 2018. So my career started in 2018 with Stree. I got nominated for the StarScreen Debut Award with Ishaan Khatter.
It's just that when you go get some fame, people bring out everything that you did before no matter how small. But I wasn't working as an actor then, I was paying my bills by working behind the scenes. But all the small roles that I took and the experience that I gained then is helping me today. Today I am comfortable working in front of the camera is because I spent time on sets of many good films. I didn't go to acting school, we couldn't afford to pay lakhs for an acting coach, so this is how I learned things. I actually hadn't even thought about acting as a career until after Stree was released. When people started praising me as an actor, that's when I realised this is something I can do.
You have played some comic roles, some serious roles, is there something more we will see you shock the audience with? is there a favourite that you will like doing again and again?
I don't know why nobody is offering me bad guys, I am still getting offers for very positive roles. I have been offered a few some but they are not that exciting and appealing to me. I don't want to do negative roles just to do them. It's not about heroes and villains anymore, you have to choose the right character for yourself.
I am not going to do another negative role similar to hathoda tyagi, you can't hand me a chaku (knife) and call me a chaku tyagi. I am waiting for a negative role that has not been done before. I enjoy playing grey characters. I do like playing the innocent, nice characters but I would always love coming back to grey characters. I am an actor to fulfil my happiness. I like to pick a character that challenging to me and satisfy that hunger and passion for acting. That won't happen until and unless I get characters that can throw me off, let me learn and figure it out so that I can give my best performance.
You currently have several films in the pipeline. From Stree to Bhediya, within two years of debuting, you have gained a huge fan following, how do you look at the journey? Where do you hope to be in five years?
Luck and destiny is something I believe in, but you also have to work hard, you can just rely on your luck and hope things happen for you. There are no two ways about it if you are working hard, trying new things and if you are not an egoistic artist then you can keep growing. I think you just have to keep going forward and give your best with honesty and you will get the best of what's written in your destiny. God makes everyone special, you just have to find out what is special about you.
In five years I want to be known as a trusted and hard-working actor. I want to be known as someone who works in many languages. I am already doing a Telugu film, but I also want to be part of Hindi, Bengali, French, Spanish. I want to be an actor beyond boundaries.
