In an industry that demands conforming and at times, a strong Bollywood lineage, it seems tougher for newcomers and outsiders to hold their own. But despite all odds, some actors have carved their niche and paved their way to becoming the finest of the current lot. At a time when Bollywood is battling and struggling to storm the waves of nepotism, it becomes all the more important to appreciate and acknowledge the ‘outsiders’ who’re slowly becoming the definition of the kind of cinema one would want to see. They might not have had big roles in their kitty yet but they sure have the potential to make it big and a testimony to that is their content-driven choices in the past.
Vikrant Massey, who played Shutu in Konkona Sen’s directorial debut A Death In The Gunj, brought to screen the complexities of his character with such finesse, that one probably can’t imagine any other actor pulling off a Shutu better. He evoked a gamut of emotions with his honest act and managed to shine amid a stellar star cast including the likes of Kalki Koechlin, Ranvir Shorey, Om Puri and Tanuja. In Mohit Suri’s Half Girlfriend too, he sported an accent more relatable than the lead Arjun Kapoor and emerged to be the ‘sigh of relief’ that viewers deserved after bearing a hell lot of Arjun-Shraddha’s forced love act. Lootera and Dil Dhadakne Do are only some of the other films that featured Vikrant but the actor is yet to bag a film of his own.
Vikrant isn’t the only actor that was brought to limelight in A Death In The Gunj, the likes of Tilotama Shome, Jim Sarbh and Gulshan Devaiah, too, have been missing out on their share of fame. Tilotama, an award-winning actress, is possibly one of the main faces of today’s parallel cinema. She shines bright with her choice of roles, but the mainstream or commercial cinema per se, is yet to tap into the talent this woman has to offer. Back in 2001, she featured in Monsoon Wedding and since then, she’s been a part of the content-driven wave of cinema. Jim, on the other hand, is a nuanced theatre actor who made his Bollywood debut with Sonam Kapoor-starrer Neerja as a terrorist. Despite playing an antagonist in the film, Jim grabbed eyeballs and instantly became the talk of the tinsel town. Thankfully, he now has a full-fledged role to himself in Dinesh Vijan’s Raabta. Another actor, Gulshan, made his debut with ‘That Girl In Yellow Boots’ and is often spotted on silver screen doing varied roles such as that of Bhawani in Ramleela but still remains an under-appreciated actor for the most part.
Another actor, to have carved a successful path for himself, is Ali Fazal. One may remember him from the sensible man in Fukrey and Happy Bhaag Jaayegi and that he’ll next be seen opposite Judi Dench in Stephen Frears’ Victoria & Abdul only stands a testament to the fact that Hollywood knows how to utilise Indian talent better than Bollywood will ever know.
Nandita Das’ Manto will bring to screen Rasika Dugal, the girl known for playing character roles in Anwar, No Smoking and Qissa, in the shoes of Manto’s wife, Safia. Her first look from the film has already piqued up viewers’ curiosity and has got them hooked to see what more lies in the film. Meanwhile, Kirti Kulhari, who was last seen in multi-starrer Pink, has now bagged a pivotal role in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Indu Sarkar and it’ll only be interesting to see what new feather she adds to her filmography this time.
The films like Jajantaram Mamantaram, Wazir, Citylights, Jai Gangaajal, Kai Po Che!, Jolly LLB 2 saw Manav Kaul doing varied genres of roles. He can step into the shoes of a helpless dwarf resident with the same perfection he does a corrupt officer onscreen. But has Bollywood given him the pie yet? The answer is similar to that for the other unconventional ‘character actors’ – a no.
Sayani Gupta, who is slowly becoming Bollywood’s favourite, proved her acting mettle in Margarita With a Straw, went on doing a series of commercial films including ‘Parched’, ‘Fan’, Baar Baar Dekho’ and is now all set to experiment in Ranbir Kapoor-Katirna Kaif starrer Jagga Jasoos. In a way, Sayami has tried to bridge the gap between the existing kinds of cinema by dwindling from one kind to another. With Masaan and Haraamkhor, another actor, Shweta Tripathi, brought a certain innocence to the projects and beautifully exemplified a job well done.
Having featured in films like Sarkar 3, Kai Po Che!, Running Shaadi and Akira, Amit Sadh is swiftly entering the league of lead actors and so far, his decisions only seem to be turning out right. It’s equally elating to see the likes of Rajkummar Rao, Sushant Singh Rajput, Vicky Kaushal and Saqib Saleem to be representatives of the stay of self-made actors in the industry.
Rajat Barmecha, who made his Bollywood debut with Vikramaditya Motwane's 2010 film Udaan, recently took to Facebook and penned down a note that ended up being an eye-opener of sorts. He wrote at length about how some of the most eminent names in the film industry appreciated and acknowledged his brilliant debut but no one offered him any projects. Rajat also explained how he had to take up projects that he didn't believe in just to manage a survival in Mumbai. What was probably meant as a personal clarification ended up shedding light on the struggle of various actors across the industry and happened to be in total sync with the ones who aspire to make it big in the industry but lack the connections to see it through.
The aforementioned names probably add up to be just a drop in the whirlpool of talent that Bollywood happens to be, but if this drop isn’t considered and given its due credit now, one might see it fading amid the glitzy and glamorous Bollywood potboilers soon enough.
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