Sharat Saxena is one of the best actors the Hindifilm industry has got. However, his journey to prove that he is an actor hasn't been easy.?
Sharat was recently seen in Sherni where he? played the role of Pinto Bhaiya, when asked what was his first reaction to the offer, he said,?
¡°I rarely get the opportunity for such nice roles. So whenthe role was offered to me I obviously wanted to do.¡°
Surprised with his answer, we asked he hasworked in the industry for almost 50 years so what is the struggle behind notgetting good roles despite proving mettleas an actor ?to which he said,
?¡°That is avery strange situation that I face, I have always had this problem. Indianmentality is that people like me who are muscular or athletic are notconsidered intellectual, actors or even poets. Indian culture does notpromote athletic people as intelligent people. They are normally treated brainless, so that is the reason whenever there are good roles, directoralways consider a person who resembles him. When it comes to hiring me for animportant or meaty role, directors don't consider me as they believe I am notsomeone who can fit in it and I am facing this for last 50 years. And this trend isnot going away, this is going to continue.¡±
Adding further, he said, ¡°I have given up onthe producers, directors and even film industry. India has the most colourconscious people in the world we all know that. Black or dark people are notconsidered as equals. You become very subservient to the white people. Darkpeople are considered inferior and I have got all those problems, I am dark, Ihave curly hair, I am muscular and I am tough looking, so all my good chancesgo away like that.¡±
We asked if being dark or muscular never boughthim the lead roles, he affirmed and said,?
"The reason for becoming a hero you have tolook like a Greek god. If you don¡¯t look like a greek god but Hindu god you don¡¯tget the role of a hero. But now things have changed andthanks to the OTT platform, now you don¡¯t have to look like a god to become ahero. You can look like an ordinary person, you can be an ordinary person andyou can still get the main character on OTT, so I am very hopeful about thefuture now.¡±
When asked if he never thought of fightingback with the unfair system, he said,?
"I would have loved to fight but I did not havethe means. You like to give it back to people but you should have to have aplatform in which you can do it. In my situation I do not have the tendency orthe desire and go and talk to TV channels and say please take my interview Iwant to say something nasty about the film industry. I can¡¯t do it, it¡¯s toomuch effort and not worth it. So it always been burning inside me andit¡¯s okay, I have learnt to live with it. You get to learn to with it, you cansay I accepted my defeat. Because you can¡¯t fight with the sensibilities andthe culture of the entire nation.¡±
Talking about being accepted in the industrySharat said,?
"In the film industry, nobody really getsaccepted. As long as you are successful, as long people want to see you, you areaccepted. But the day they don¡¯t want to see you, you are thrown out withoutany ceremony, you are just ignored and you are out. And that is a worst thingthat can happen to any actor. Because an actor survives only when people want tosee him. I have been in this industry for almost 50 years. Out of which for 30to 35 years I was only doing action. Then I became old and my hair became whitethan I started doing father¡¯s role.
The first film as a father that I did wasSaathiya. People liked my work as they stopped on streets to appreciate me, andI realised that people have liked my work and suddenly from a fighter I turnedinto an actor. So being called as an actor after working for 35 years in themovies is quite depressing.? But anywaysince that time people have noticed my work and they realised that I used to dogood work earlier also.¡±.
Talking about the struggle of being old man inthe industry, Sharat said,?
"Another problem here is there are no roles written for old people. You see any film there are no important roles written for an old man. Old people are not required, they are just not in to the script of the Hindi film and therefore it is become very impo I workout like a young man , I am physically fit like a young man, Ihave coloured my hair black, I have black moustache, black beard, so this iswhat I have to do to survive in the film industry because there is no otherthing I would rather do. This is the only job I like, I can do and his is theonly job I will ever do. This is my life, this is my dedication and I am goingto die doing this.¡±
However Sharat is hopeful things will changedue to OTT existence,?
"But now I feel I am accepted, I am accepted asan actor, I am getting main characters but I can never be a hero and that¡¯sokay. However I am hopeful for the OTT platform, because it¡¯s a very levelplaying platform for everybody. You can be a superstar in a cinema theatre, butwhen you come on the OTT platform you have to compete with everyone including mealso¡±.
Before concluding the interview when asked Sharatif any desirable roles he wants to do, to which he said,?
¡°My only desire isthat I want to do important roles. Like Pinto Bhaiya in Sherni, everyone wantsto kill him after watching the film and that¡¯s a great thing", concludes with a laugh.
We hope the actor gets his due now or sooner.