Mumbai: In the slick, fantasy world of Indian cinema, a man with a pock-marked face and a shaggy beard started out with the odds stacked against him, with little chance of breaking into an exclusive club of star kids and established actors dominating the industry for years.
Actor Deepak Dobriyal started his acting career in Bollywood with a role that did not require him to utter a single word. It was akin to the classic 'dead soldier's role'.
As a struggling actor, forced to accept scripts that have little or no dialogues, often cast in frivolous, negative roles, he stayed faithful to the one thing that most successful actors lose sight of – solid performances no matter how small the role.
"My first big break into films was a no dialogue role in 'Maqbool'. It was Pankaj Kapoor who suggested my name to Vishal and that's how I got the role of Rajju Tiwari in 'Omkara'," said Dobriyal.
Dobriyal's story defines the fate of most actors fresh out of drama school with dreams in their eyes to rub shoulders with stars, act in career defining roles and mint money in an industry that churns out hundreds of films a year.
Some succeed while some remain overshadowed.
Well, here’s the good news. As films today recognize the importance of cerebral scripts and a mature, well informed audience with the Internet as a power tool to compare and contrast Indian cinema with its global counterparts, they demand talent more than just good looks.
Often, the supporting actors play small roles in big films but lead the show in small budget movies.
Dobriyal helped plot against Ajay Devgn along with Saif Ali Khan in 'Omkara'. He was Madhavan's best friend in 'Tanu Weds Manu' and played a respectable officer in 'Shaurya'.
Incidentally, many of these actors hail from a theatre background. Shahana Goswami assisted Jaimini Pathak's theatre group in production. It was during this time that she got her first break in Naseeruddin Shah's 'Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota' post which, she was seen in Reema Kagti's 'Honeymoon Travels'. Shahana kept appearing for auditions until the day she was chosen for Abhishek Kapoor's 'Rock On!' that put her on the map.
Dobriyal, who was also offered small roles initially said, "No role is too big or too small, I was initially offered a lot of small roles... but I always took it like a stepping stone to something big. Acting should be passion and not a duty so it does not matter what you get, it's up to you what you do with what is offered."
The same hunger for acting launched many actors on the small screen before making it in Bollywood. Vishal Malhotra was the Disney host and had played a prominent role in the youth centric television show, 'Hip Hip Hurray'. He got his first break into films along with Shahid Kapoor in 'Ishq Vishq'.
He went on to do 'Kismet Konnection' and 'Anjaana Anjaani' and more such roles are in the pipeline. While Actor Kavin Dave was seen initially on the television series 'Junoon' and he did many commercials. He got a prominent role when YRF started television serials on Sony. Kavin played Huzefa in 'Rishta.com' post which he played Imran's best friend in 'I Hate Luv Storys' and a negative role in 'Crook'.
"Initially I got something between 1 to 1.5 lakhs… Although I never got more than that, the roles I did kept me going. Later on, I got somewhere between 5 to 7 lakhs. Now it is easily above 20 lakhs. Of course I have been offered more for big budget commercial movies but I never took them. As it is not about how much you get rather what kind of roles you get. There have been times when I have taken less for a small budget film mainly because I like the script," added Deepak.
Of course prominent actors like Divya Dutta who has over 60 films under her belt would be paid more but she is yet to get her due in the film industry. 'Veer Zara', 'Delhi 6' and 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' have been her best work till date. On the other hand, there are actors such as Omi Vaidya, who floored everyone with his single performance as Chatur Ramalingam aka Silencer in '3 Idiots'. Before venturing into films, Omi studied in Art School to enhance his dramatic skills.
However acting isn’t the only option for young film graduates and actors from small towns. Some look for a break in production and direction. But Deepak Dobriyal says, "The film industry is a huge affair and there is always work for the talented. As long as one is clear what they want to do they have a huge scope in this field."
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