The actor talks about being nominated at Busan International Film Festival
It took a while for actor Ali Fazal to realise the true significance of being nominated under the Best Actor category at the Asian Contents Awards by Busan International Film Festival. “I honestly didn’t know what it was because I didn’t read it (the news) properly,” admits the actor, who adds that he was caught up with the filming of his upcoming project, Khufiya. But like it’s said, ‘better late than never’ and now, Fazal realises that the nod is a “nice bonus”, as it brings one under the spotlight, both on the national and international turf. Fazal has bagged the nomination for his role of Ispit Nair, a man who is struggling a mental breakdown, in Forget Me Not, one of the four films in the Ray anthology on a web platform. He admits that all international recognitions act as propellers to one’s career as “people over there notice you”.
Right now, India is on the world map, with regards to its entertainment industry, feels Fazal. “It has become a level playing field now. There are a lot of people who have branched out. But the problem is that we’ve not championed our own for a long time, and that’s what is needed,” he explains.
As far as his career is concerned, Fazal, 34, admits he is “much more satisfied” as an actor now than he was a year ago. However, it also comes along with a new set of difficulties: “Making decisions has become hard because my unique problem is that I have one foot in the West and one foot here. I recently lost a very big show in India and I felt bad because mere paas dates nahin hain. But that’s a good problem and I’m not complaining,” he says, and is quick to add, “However, I’ve to be extra careful now (about) what I’m choosing on both sides. I’ve to give time to both because I don’t want to leave home and this is just a great time for us. There’s a lot to be told and less time because kahaniyon se hi humara itihaas banega.”
The BIFF award ceremony will be held on October 7, in a hybrid way — online and on-site — and the Mirzapur actor shares that he will be attending it online as he feels “safety is of prime importance at the moment”.