Even at the age of 70, no one can match the energy level of Asrani, one of the finest comedians in the Indian film industry. In a conversation with A Mishra, he says that since the mainstream actors have started taking up comic roles, there are no specific roles written for comedians
When we talk about comedy, after the great Mehmood, the second name which comes to our mind is of Asrani. His role of Jailer in the film Sholay is still remembered by everyone. He holds a record for appearing as a character actor and comedian in the hindi film industry by doing 101 films in 70’s and 107 films in 80’s.
The actor seems to be a bit upset with the change in the comedy trend. “Today, comedy has become vulgar. But the thing which one should keep in mind is that we are Indians and we are family oriented people. Vulgar comedy can not work in India because people watch films with their parents or children. Some people thought that it is something new and will work in the country but it did not worked. And now it is soon going to be vanish,” he pointed out.
Talking about his forthcoming film, Murari-The Mad Gentleman, he said that the film is about parent-child relationship. In the film, Asrani is playing a character of mukhiya of the village. “I have already done many films but I liked the subject of this one in particular. The producers have come from America and this is their first film. They are very sincere for their work and they wanted to shoot it in a village. All the actors in the film are new comers,” he said and added, “People always think that we are experienced artistes, but the reaction which the newcomers give on the sets, is quite shocking. On each of their shot, we were like arey ye kitna badhiya kar diya because everyone knows how we are going to do a scene but no one knows that how they will perform. It was a nice experience of working with new actors and I got to learn something new from them,” the veteran actor shared his experience.
Though it is a comedy film, but it gives a social message. When we asked Asrani that how difficult is it to create humour on a serious issue, he gave the credit for it to the writers. According to him, “To create humour on any serious issue depends upon the writing. I have worked with Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar and their writing was brilliant. Films like Bawarchi and Namak Haram was not a comedy film but we gave a message through the film by adding humour to it and credit goes to the writer.”
The actor agreed that the role for comedian is not written these days because mainstream actors are doing comedy. “Not only this, they do character roles or ab toh ladki bhi ban jate hai (now they do role of girl as well).” He said that the trend of Indian cinema is changing by the day. “But is not like that we feel bad about it, we have made our own place in the industry. It the director thinks that only Asrani can do justice to this role then he will approach me. They had to come to me because actors cannot do everything. They just try to attempt it. Earlier it was not like this. Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar had never done comedy throughout their career.”
He said that these days, actors are playing villain as well. “Shah Rukh Khan ne change kar diya sab kuch (relating his role with Baazigar),” he said.
We were curious to know from where he gets his energy even at this age, he laughed and said, “There is nothing like energy. It’s all about work. Doing your work is not an energy, its your passion for your work. The day you will stop doing your work, that day you will become old. I do my work and I have to bring energy otherwise no one will give you work. In my profession, one must have to be alert, we can’t take a risk, otherwise your career will be finished.”
Since Asrani has lived five decades in the Indian film industry, he finds that even though technology has changed but the emotions are still the same. “Technology in Indian cinema has changed, but the emotions are still the same. Whether the actor is Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan, if his mother dies in the film, he has to cry nahi toh log maarenge. Techniques have been changed and multiple cameras are being used now but no matter how advanced you become you have to be true to the emotions,” he clarified.
photos Sunny Mathews