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‘BACK IN THE DAY, WE ALL HAD TO HAM; IT’S TERRIBLE’
Kajol says with time, she had to change her acting style; adds hamming doesn’t go with her acting aesthetics
This is a busy year for Emraan Hashmi, who is seen as one of the most outspoken Bollywood actors. Chehre will see him joining hands with Amitabh Bachchan, while with Mumbai Saga, he makes a comeback to the masala zone.There’s Ezra, a horror film lined up, too. And the actor says that in this industry, you have to always be alert since there is so much competition. Excerpts:
What made you say yes to Mumbai Saga?
It’s a mass zone, and an entertainer, something that I haven’t touched for some time now. It’s something I have been wanting to get back into. People will get their money’s worth. Sanjay Gupta was one director on my bucket list, and no one does mass better than him. He understands the sensibilities of the audience.
You have not done many masala films in the last few years. Were you consciously holding back, or did good offers not materialise?
A bit of both. I wanted to steer in a different direction, and that’s why I felt that I should try my hand at different characters. I did a biopic (Azhar, 2016), and one film on the Indian education system (Why Cheat India, 2019). I felt tired of what I was doing… There’s nothing wrong in it. It’s just that I wanted to explore something else. It’s important to get creative satisfaction from what you do. I was never opposed to the idea of doing a mass entertainer, but I did not want to repeat myself. I thought I will take a bit of detour, and get back.
You call yourself an ‘accidental’ actor. Are you comfortable with the profession today?
Yes and no. Some things are great, while some are not. The good part is obviously when you find your voice in the profession, and you are excited. So, then you realise your dreams, get acclaim, and become famous — that’s what an actor wants. But there are negatives, too. I’m generally a
Titas Chowdhury
Kajol, who’s basking in the success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, says that she had to change her approach towards her craft a few years back and ncorporate a new method of acting in her subsequent films. Looking back at her earlier years in the industry, she says hat she had to cater to the demands of her directors and ham in order to play to the gallery as it was the only acceptable way of performing. “We’ve all hammed back in the day. How do you think we would get through? Hamming is terrible. It doesn’t agree with your spiritual, physical and mental aesthetics,” she says.
Ask her what drove this change towards her art, and she says that it’s important to private person. Sometimes, you want to disconnect, but because of the sheer curiosity [of the audience and fans] which you have to deal with in this profession, you are always engaged. You cannot, for a minute, let [your guard] down, because there’s so much competition. But it’s great for any industry, to always be on your toes, so it’s not really a negative.
NOTE TO READERS: Some of the coverage that appears on our pages is paid for by the concerned brands. No sponsored content does or shall appear in any part of HT without it being declared as such to our valued readers. stay relevant to the Gen Z audience, which is now exposed to content from all over the world. “You slowly realise that the audience has also changed. Because of the influx of OTT platforms and exposure to a wide variety of content, you realise that they’re used to seeing better content and so, you have to be better. They know what ‘being natural onscreen’ means. Actors cannot be unnatural now,” she elaborates.
Kajol adds that the process of “loud acting” doesn’t work anymore. “When I did We Are Family (2010), I realised that times have changed, and that formula won’t work anymore. At one point, I realised that a particular scene isn’t working but it would have worked five years back. I understood that somewhere down the line, I’ll have to change my pattern, break it and unlearn everything that I’ve learnt so far or else I’ll expire and become outdated,” says the 45year-old actor.
For the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) actor, it’s important to appear natural on camera as it never lies. She explains, “I had a moment of epiphany at that point of time. It completely changed my viewpoint about films. I realised that if I want to do more films, I can’t do things where I look at myself and say that things are going wrong. It’s not like you’ll watch We
So, you do feel the heat of the competition?
I don’t think any actor doesn’t feel it. They pretend like they are invincible, but every actor, at the core, has a deep seated insecurity that stems after a successful film — to keep that success going. You are insecure that you might lose the success. When you are going through a low phase, you worry about keeping afloat. Actors are extremely vulnerable in this industry because you can, as a performer, put out your best creatively, but there are several dynamics involved, [and] you realise you are empowered yet powerless. There are a lot of things that are not in your control. I have seen success destroy people. Failures keep you grounded.
Are Family and say that there’s something wrong with it but when I was doing the film, I figured that it wasn’t working for me, personally. You need to understand what works on camera and what doesn’t.”
Kajol says that social media doesn’t allow actors to fool the viewers anymore. “Today, because of social media, you see actors without any makeup. When you see the same actors with loud makeup and fake eyelashes in a realistic film, it’s going to hit you wrong! If you’re going the ‘realistic film’ way and you still have your eyeliner, eyelashes and mascara on, it’s going to look so wrong. The same applies to clothes, expressions and body language. As actors of a different time and era, we’ve to adapt to the recent times,” she signs off.
Actors pretend like they are invincible, but every actor, at the core, has a deep seated insecurity that stems after a successful film — to keep that success going.
EMRAAN HASHMI, ACTOR