'Paatal Lok' broke my comedic actor image: Abhishek Banerjee
Actor-casting director Abhishek Banerjee says after starring in back-to-back comedy films, he was scared of getting typecast but his role of the fearsome killer Hathoda Tyagi in the series Paatal Lok helped him break out of that image. Banerjee, who turned 36 on Wednesday, has emerged as one of the most successful faces on OTT platforms with movies such as Unpaused and Ajeeb Daastaans.
Banerjee had a dark role in the Marathi film 'Ajji'
The actor shot to fame with light-hearted movies like Stree, Bala, and Dream Girl that cemented his position as a comedy star but Banerjee had hoped that people will also take note of his dark role in the Marathi film Ajji. The actor said that he knew that not many people had watched Ajji but expected filmmakers to take note of his performance.
I can pull off different kinds of characters: Banerjee
Banerjee said, "I was wondering as to how I am getting the same kind of roles only to play and how do I break this. Thankfully, Paatal Lok broke it for me." "People started realizing that I am not only good at comedy and that I can pull off different kinds of characters," Banerjee said.
Director's trust in an actor can change perceptions
Banerjee said that a director's trust in an actor can help change perceptions. "It is also necessary to take risks," he noted. "After a time, you will get bored of doing the same thing, the audience and the maker too will get bored. So why not try and apply different rules with different characters?" Banerjee said.
Banerjee started as a casting director in 2015
Banerjee made his start in the world of entertainment as a casting director in 2015 and one of the rules that he abides by is to not repeat his actors in similar roles. He runs the casting company Casting Bay with Anmol Ahuja.
Trying to strike a balance, will experiment with roles: Banerjee
Banerjee said, "I am paying more attention to characters and I understand that there are some characters that are going to be easy, and some are not going to be easy. I am trying to strike a balance." "I am not saying 'I am not taking up easy characters' because that's my bread and butter. But I will also experiment with roles," he added.
Some of his releases were postponed due to the pandemic
With his career taking off with the 2018 sleeper hit Stree, where he played Janna, Banerjee said 2020 was supposed to be his big year but with the coronavirus pandemic affecting every walk of life, some of his releases were postponed. But things did change overnight for Banerjee when the trailer of Paatal Lok dropped on his birthday last year on May 5.
He has a slew of projects lined up
With 2021 bringing a more severe second wave of infections in the country, Banerjee, who has a slew of projects, including the Varun Dhawan-starrer Bhediya, Rashmi Rocket with Taapsee Pannu, and Karan Johar's Dostana 2, says he is still hoping for the best.
