‘I WAS A BIT SCEPTICAL ABOUT MY ROLE’

Actor Alok Nath talks about his not-so-sanskaari role in his latest outing; says portraying a ‘Babuji’ onscreen is a cakewalk for him

Alok Nath is famous for playing the role of a respectable, benevolent father figure, AKA “Babuji”, in many TV shows and films, and his sanskari image has also been the target of many memes. However, the veteran actor says he is always interested in roles that are “different from the sanskaari (traditional) image”, which explains why he plays a chauvinist and foul-mouthed man in the recently released Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.

Nath says, “People were surprised that I chose to do that role, and that it was unexpected for me to do a role. I was waiting for shocked expressions, and people saying ‘hawww’. I thought ke maar padne wali hai (I’d get beaten up; laughs). However, I have got positive and interesting reactions. People said, ‘You have never done any role like this, but you’ve done it so well’. Some others said, ‘Try to do such roles more often’. I am happy that I was accepted in a role that goes against my image and what people have seen me play over the years. It was all in fun and not to be taken so seriously.”

The 61-year-old says he was surprised when director Luv Ranjan came to him with the offer. “I was a bit sceptical about the role, but Luv was sure that I should play this pivotal character in the film. We met when my ‘Babuji’ image was sky-rocketing on social media. I am used to playing babuji, and it’s a cakewalk for me. After doing a role with some variations over and over, you get into the groove, and here was a director who wanted me to go against that image. I was apprehensive of how it would be received and how I would go about doing the role. No one had ever asked me to do such a role, but he was confident and I followed his instincts. I entrusted myself to him and let go. It was a lot of fun playing the role. Luv told me to play the role casually and naturally. So, the credit goes to him.”

Nath understands that he has an established image, but he doesn’t see being stereotyped as a bane. “Filmmaking is a risky business and at the end of the day, everyone is finicky about success. They want to focus on the hero and heroine and cast actors who fit the character roles, and they are now set in that groove. If people have accepted certain actors in certain roles, they tend to be repeated in similar roles. Moreover, why break an image when something is hunky dory and people are lapping it up? Why take a risk?”