Fourteen years ago, Abhishek Banerjee appeared in a blink-and-miss role in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti. It wasn’t until Stree came his way in 2018 that the actor and co-founder of Casting Bay, was noticed for his performance as the cowardly Jana, who gets possessed by a spirit. However, it is the recently-aired web show Paatal Lok on Amazon Prime Video, which has firmly established him as a powerhouse of talent. His character in the show – Vishal Tyagi, nicknamed Hathoda Tyagi for his brutal use of the hammer to kill people – has a menacing presence that is not easy to forget. The actor and casting director, Abhishek Banerjee is our cover boy for the digital edition of July, shares his thoughts on the craft and his process…
In a recent interview, you mentioned that your wife hasn’t watched Paatal Lok, has she seen it now?
No, she is not interested in watching it. She has seen Ajji, maybe that’s why! (laughs)
Your role in Ajji was extremely dark, even darker than Paatal Lok…
If someone tells me Hathoda is dark, I assume that the person hasn’t seen Ajji. Actually, characters are not dark, it’s their thinking that makes them dark. It’s the thought – ek insaan aisa soch kaise sakta hai? When we saw Seven, we wondered how could Kevin Spacey’s character think like that. It was not his action per say but his thinking. When you see a character like Hannibal, you can see the darkness in his thinking. With Hathoda, it was very straight-forward. Something really bad happened to him and he wanted to take revenge. It’s easy to understand somebody like him.
How was it like to play a character with barely any dialogues, who has to emote only through his eyes and expressions?
It was difficult. Whatever characters I had done so far talked a lot. Sab batooni thhey. For me, to suddenly break that and become a character who doesn’t talk at all was a big problem. But to play a character like this you have to understand the level of oppression there is in society. It was a learning experience for me to play Hathoda. I had never gone so near to such characters. At first, you think he has no control but slowly, you understand that he is always in control. The only time you see him lose his cool is when he takes revenge for his sisters and when a dog is getting beaten up because he sees another being get oppressed in front of him. The kick that the dog receives is a kick on Hathoda. I have always been a curious child and I have wondered how much greed is there in society that you agree to fight with your parents or siblings. I think I found the answer in Hathoda. When there is an emptiness within, you don’t need to talk. Kehte hain na ki bina kuch bole ishq ho jaata hai. Vaise hi bina kuch bole nafrat bhi ho jaati hai.
It’s courageous of the show-maker to even envision you in such a role, especially after your light-hearted roles in Stree, Dreamgirl, and Bala…
I have always maintained that the credit goes to the maker when they take these bold decisions. Some directors give work to new actors and it feels really good to be trusted that way. For Sudip (Sharma) sir to come to me after Stree and ask me to play Hathoda was a big thing. That’s why I would love to do anything made by him because he will not put me in a bracket. I want to see how many different characters I can do. I didn’t want to do any of these characters that I have played so far, right from TVF Pitchers to Dreamgirl and Bala. I didn’t know I could do those roles. So that conviction is the maker’s and these makers know better than I do.
Abhishek Banerjee, you are an actor as well as a casting director. If you are casting for a show/film and come across a character you can see yourself playing, do you approach the director?
I used to be very greedy. I wanted to do the role that Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub eventually did in No One Killed Jessica. In Ghanchakkar, I wanted to do the role that Namit Das eventually played. But when you get rejected 10-15 times, then there is a setback. You realise you need to learn more. When Devashish Makhija asked me to play Dhavle in Ajji, I was taken by surprise. I was a little scared if I would be able to do it but I did it because of his conviction. Now, I feel that the characters which are for me and which are in my destiny will come to me. When I’m casting, I don’t look at the script as an actor. If a director needs me, he will ask me to audition and then the decision will be mutual.
There is a raging debate these days on the issue of insiders versus outsiders. There is a projection about the Bollywood industry that it is a dirty place. What is your advice to upcoming actors who want to make a name for themselves in the acting industry?
I want to first genuinely ask which industry has everything good in it? It’s a simple thing. I haven’t come to work only in Bollywood. I want to work in this art form. Tomorrow, I might do a Bangla film, a Malayali film or a Tamil film. I might even want to do a foreign language film. My aspirations are very big; they are not limited to any industry. That’s what I tell every actor. Don’t come here to be famous. I became an actor the day I started acting. That was the day I became an insider to the entire acting community of the world. You have to decide why you are coming here.
There are three things that come into play here. Firstly, you need to have the talent – either you are born with it or you nurture it. Now with that talent, you have to come here and keep working hard in whatever capacity. Thirdly, you have to keep learning. It’s possible that what you learnt two or three years ago might have become obsolete. You have to keep learning new nuances and techniques. An actor can never say that I am ready because you don’t know what your next character is going to be and you just might not be ready at all. If you are willing to learn and work hard, it is next to impossible that you will not find a way.
What’s in the pipeline for you?
Bhonsle just released and there are two more films in the pipeline – Helmet and Aankh Micholi. Helmet is a comedy and I am glad there is a light-hearted film again. I am also really looking forward to Aankh Micholi as the role was out of my comfort zone.
QUICK TAKE
What’s the best dish you can cook? I’m a pro at cooking! My best dish would be Chicken Chettinad
The kind of music you listen to: Soothing, electronic music
Movies you wish you had done the casting for: Not just casting, I wish I was associated with these films in some way or another. Gully Boy, Super Deluxe and Angamaly Diaries are films I wish I had been a part of somehow.
Recent web series you were hooked on to? Money Heist
Like reading books? No, I’m a documentary-worm (smiles)
Most expensive thing you bought: A house for my parents
The post Abhishek Banerjee: Playing Hathoda Tyagi was a learning experience for me appeared first on TMM.