Sharat Saxena Talks About His Struggle In Bollywood, Says I Was Considered An Actor After 35 Years
Sharat Saxena is one of the best actors Hindi film industry has got. However his journey to prove that he is an actor wasn¡¯t easy. In a candid conversation with Indiatimes Sharat Saxena talks about the ugly truth of Bollywood that he faced as an actor, and his struggle after becoming old.
Sharat Saxena is one of the best actors the Hindi film industry has got. However, his journey to prove that he is an actor hasn't been easy.
In a candid conversation with Indiatimes, Sharat Saxena talks about the ugly truth of Bollywood that he faced as an actor, and his struggle after getting old.
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 when the role was offered to me I obviously wanted to do.¡°
Surprised with his answer, we asked he has worked in the industry for almost 50 years so what is the struggle behind not getting good roles despite proving mettle as an actor to which he said,
¡°That is a very strange situation that I face, I have always had this problem. Indian mentality is that people like me who are muscular or athletic are not considered intellectual, actors or even poets. Indian culture does not promote athletic people as intelligent people. They are normally treated brainless, so that is the reason whenever there are good roles, director always consider a person who resembles him. When it comes to hiring me for an important or meaty role, directors don't consider me as they believe I am not someone who can fit in it and I am facing this for last 50 years. And this trend is not going away, this is going to continue.¡±
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Adding further, he said, ¡°I have given up on the producers, directors and even film industry. India has the most colour conscious people in the world we all know that. Black or dark people are not considered as equals. You become very subservient to the white people. Dark people are considered inferior and I have got all those problems, I am dark, I have curly hair, I am muscular and I am tough looking, so all my good chances go away like that.¡±
We asked if being dark or muscular never bought him the lead roles, he affirmed and said,
"The reason for becoming a hero you have to look like a Greek god. If you don¡¯t look like a greek god but Hindu god you don¡¯t get the role of a hero. But now things have changed and thanks to the OTT platform, now you don¡¯t have to look like a god to become a hero. You can look like an ordinary person, you can be an ordinary person and you can still get the main character on OTT, so I am very hopeful about the future now.¡±
When asked if he never thought of fighting back with the unfair system, he said,
"I would have loved to fight but I did not have the means. You like to give it back to people but you should have to have a platform in which you can do it. In my situation I do not have the tendency or the desire and go and talk to TV channels and say please take my interview I want to say something nasty about the film industry. I can¡¯t do it, it¡¯s too much effort and not worth it. So it always been burning inside me and it¡¯s okay, I have learnt to live with it. You get to learn to with it, you can say I accepted my defeat. Because you can¡¯t fight with the sensibilities and the culture of the entire nation.¡±
Talking about being accepted in the industry Sharat said,
"In the film industry, nobody really gets accepted. As long as you are successful, as long people want to see you, you are accepted. But the day they don¡¯t want to see you, you are thrown out without any ceremony, you are just ignored and you are out. And that is a worst thing that can happen to any actor. Because an actor survives only when people want to see him. I have been in this industry for almost 50 years. Out of which for 30 to 35 years I was only doing action. Then I became old and my hair became white than I started doing father¡¯s role.
The first film as a father that I did was Saathiya. People liked my work as they stopped on streets to appreciate me, and I realised that people have liked my work and suddenly from a fighter I turned into an actor. So being called as an actor after working for 35 years in the movies is quite depressing. But anyway since that time people have noticed my work and they realised that I used to do good work earlier also.¡±.
Talking about the struggle of being old man in the 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, I have coloured my hair black, I have black moustache, black beard, so this is what I have to do to survive in the film industry because there is no other thing I would rather do. This is the only job I like, I can do and his is the only job I will ever do. This is my life, this is my dedication and I am going to die doing this.¡±
However Sharat is hopeful things will change due to OTT existence,
"But now I feel I am accepted, I am accepted as an actor, I am getting main characters but I can never be a hero and that¡¯s okay. However I am hopeful for the OTT platform, because it¡¯s a very level playing platform for everybody. You can be a superstar in a cinema theatre, but when you come on the OTT platform you have to compete with everyone including me also¡±.
Before concluding the interview when asked Sharat if any desirable roles he wants to do, to which he said,
¡°My only desire is that I want to do important roles. Like Pinto Bhaiya in Sherni, everyone wants to 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.
