STAY IN CHARACTER

The new breed of actors with pluck, persistence and most importantly, terrific acting skills have joined the film industry. Jitesh Pillai checks out what gives them the added sheen No fat cheques, no vanity vans. But they add muscle to the movies. They are the new breed of actors loosely dubbed as character actors. From avenging angels to old vigilantes, they inhabit roles on the silver screen with panache.Of late, the line-up of character actors has trebled. Here's the current check-list: Sandhya Mridul and Rehaan Engineer in Page 3, Shernaz Patel in Black, Atul Kulkarni in Chandni Bar, Satta, Khakee, Page 3 and Devrai, Boman Irani in Let's Talk, Munnabhai MBBS, Main Hoon Naa, Lilette Dubey in Kal Ho Naa Ho, Morning Raga and Dance Like a Man, Sushant Singh in Satya, Jungle, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Samay and Lakshya, and Anup Soni in Godmother, Gangajal and Kagaar. There's an explosion of raw talent in the character actor firmament. Sushant Singh says deprecatingly, "Maybe I come across as good because there are so many mediocre actors around." Madhur Bhandarkar recalls that Atul Kulkarni was an implosive actor from the very first shot he gave in Chandni Bar. "I choose actors according to the requirements of my role. Rehaan (Engineer) fitted the bill of the make-up man in Page 3, to a T. He didn't throw any tantrums and only excused himself from the publicity and interview circuit before the release of the film. I thought that was cool." Often, many of the actors have moved from the sidelines to lead roles. Cases in point: Manoj Bajpai, Irrfan Khan, Kay Kay. Irrfan, who was first seen in scores of television serials, made it to the big lead with his scorching performance in Maqbool. Kay Kay will always be remembered for his memorable... ... role in Anurag Kashyap's ill-fated Paanch. Another notable exception to the ranks of character actors is Manoj Bajpai, who slalomed to leading hero roles after his tour de force Bhiku Mhatre in Satya. His mentor, Ram Gopal Varma, is responsible for casting actors according to their strengths and limitations. Varma whipped up a storm of actors including Sushant Singh, Rajpal Yadav, Aditya Shrivastav and Murli Sharma. His latest discoveries being the much-ballyhooed Randeep Hooda (who will star in the role of gangster Dawood in D) and the full-of-attitude, Mohit Alawat (being launched in James). However, trouble begins when innumerable character actors start playing lead roles. Charging anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 10 lakh, often some of the actors get deluded by their success. Says a leading producer-director, "That's the big mistake they make. Actors like Irrfan are fantastic. They burn up the screen. But I won't pay to see them doing pelvic jigs or romantic mush. I leave it to the Hrithik Roshans and Shahid Kapoors." Some actors have, of course, languished on the periphery too long - either for lack of great roles or the glamour quotient. Actors of the calibre of Tanvi Azmi, Seema Biswas, Govind Namdeo, Rajendra Gupta, Surekha Sikhri and Pawan Malhotra have been relegated to the sidelines. Ram Gopal Varma states matter-of-factly, "I'm selfish about what I want and what I don't. The trouble arises when so-called good actors want to play Rambo and John Travolta on screen. I'm sorry, I'm here to make movies, not to pander... ... to anyone's egos." Shekhar Kapur and Mani Ratnam too have cast character actors splendidly. Before he became a star, Manoj Bajpai was cast as Maan Singh in Bandit Queen. Ratnam too cast novice actors in well-etched roles in his Tamil and Hindi oeuvre. Bhandarkar adds, "Character artistes may not be conventionally good-looking, but most of them are better actors than the leading heroes and heroines. Plus, they are either trained at the National School of Drama or belong to some repertory company. That's an added bonus." So do the showbiz bratpackers get intimidated by the acts of steel? Atul Kulkarni laughs away the suggestion, "Please, I'm just an actor," he says, and adds, "If someone gets intimidated, I choose to ignore the situation and just continue with my work. We are all professionals and healthy competition is good. Moreover, I don't have any illusions about myself. I know my strengths and limitations as an actor." Clearly, the actor of substance is here to stay. In the coming months, Atul Kulkarni will be seen in a major way in Rakyesh Mehra's Rang De Basanti. Mehra avers, "Atul is truly sensational. My other actors, like Kirron Kher and Anupam Kher, have also been perfectly cast. Even in Aks, I had certain character actors delineating their roles far beyond my expectations. That really gives me immense satisfaction." Bhandarkar seconds the thought. "Actors like Atul Kulkarni really go beyond the dimensions of a script. They take the movies to another level. I hope more directors can look beyond the glamour and leather pants," he states.