Indian men think they know better than women: Sharat Saxena
What's the story
Veteran actor Sharat Saxena says it was not difficult to slip into the role of a chauvinist hunter in Vidya Balan-starrer Sherni as that is the mindset of most of the men in India.
Amit Masurkar has directed the drama from a script by Aastha Tiku, which revolves around Balan's Vidya Vincent, an upright forest officer who is tasked to resolve the man-animal conflict.
Film
The film touches upon man-animal conflict and gender dynamics
The multi-layered film, which touches upon the man and animal conflict and gender dynamics, has been gathering applause from both audiences and critics for its nuanced narrative and performance by the cast.
Saxena plays Ranjan Rajhans aka Pintu Bhaiya, a callous hunter, who believes that only he can save the village from the man-eating tigress.
Character
'Didn't need to model my portrayal on any particular person'
"This is a common factor about Indians (men) that they are always dominating the women all the time. This happens all the time. Men all over India think they know better than women. This is the atmosphere in which we have grown up," he said.
The 70-year-old actor said that he did not need to model his portrayal on any particular person.
Preparation
I did not need any preparation for the role: Saxena
"It's not very difficult for an actor to take up this kind of character. He is a typical Indian. We have always been making these characters in Hindi films. And there was no preparation required to behave like a male chauvinist p**, we are already that," he said.
Praising Masurkar's approach, the actor said the director ensured that the characters did not go overboard.
Quote
I was stereotyped in the initial 40 years: Saxena
The actor also said that the initial 40 years of his career saw him being stereotyped as an actor as writers, producers, and directors would consider him only for action sequences. It's only in the last decade that he has started getting interesting parts.
OTT
OTT has given me a new lease of life: Saxena
Saxena, who had sailed through difficult times, has also not lost hope of leading a film someday.
Citing the example of his latest release Sherni, Saxena said, the OTT platform has given him a new lease of life.
"I'm still new to this platform. It's for the first time that a new film of mine has been released on OTT," he said.
Information
'Sherni' is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video
"In the last 50 years, this is the first time that I have appeared in a critically-acclaimed film," he said. Sherni, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video last month, also stars Neeraj Kabi, Vijay Raaz, Brijendra Kala, Mukul Chadda, and Ila Arun in key roles.