'Matka King' actress Sai Tamhankar says, 'There's a stark silver lining of typecast'

Actress Sai Tamhankar, who is currently seen on the show 'Matka King', has spoken about how, while typecasting remains a huge challenge in the Hindi film industry, it often stems from success itself, where memorable performances lead to repeated offers of similar roles.Sai, who has showcased her talent in diverse projects such as 'Love Sonia', 'Bhakshak', 'Agni', 'Ground Zero', 'Navarasa' and 'Dabba Cartel', to name a few, said that turning down work to avoid being pigeon-holed into an image is one of the toughest parts of being an actor.Asked how she navigates being typecast and have there been moments where she had to say no to avoid being boxed into a certain image, Sai told IANS: "Yes, there's a stark silver lining of typecast.""The thing is, once you do something which is a hit or admired by people, your character is a hit, admired by people, probably the people who cast you again or ask you again for the same thing or same kind of thing, they are probably playing it safe and rightfully so."However, she thinks for an actor, it is very tough to keep saying no to work."The only way to escape or to avoid being typecast is saying no to similar work. And that is the toughest part of an actor's job. Especially for me, it's very tough for me to say no to work," said Sai, who made her first screen appearance in 2003 with a minor role in Tuzyavina.She added: "But yes, I have done this in the past. I am slightly more seasoned when it comes to handling or fearing being typecast. But yeah, the layer still exists and I feel sad it should not exist. But a lot of things are changing. I think this too shall change. Let's be optimistic here."Talking about her latest project 'Matka King', the show also stars Vijay Varma and Kritika Kamra. It tells the story of Mumbai in the 1960s, where an enterprising cotton trader who craves legitimacy and respect, starts a new gambling game dubbed 'Matka'.