Abhishek Banerjee: From Hathoda Tyagi to migrant labour, roles that changed it all | Watch interview

It was in 2018 when Abhishek Banerjee gained fame for the super success of Rajkummar Rao starrer film Stree. Although many of his close friends felt that he was finally able to build a career in the film industry as an actor, Abhishek was not very satisfied. He kept getting roles of the supporting cast who was usually a quirky guy, a repetition we noticed in Bala, Dream Girl. It was in 2020 after Amazon Prime Video's Pataal Lok when he was able to shatter the image. In Unpaused he finally got a chance to play a lead role. 

During an exclusive video interaction with IBTimes, the actor shared how he was disappointed for the longest time, despite the success and fame that followed him. Here is the transcript.

2020 has badly affected the film industry. But thanks to the web series Pataal Lok you had a breakthrough moment as an actor. While the year has been a curse for many people, how do you see it?

It's a year of beginnings and a lot of new beginnings have happened not only for me but also for many other actors, writers and directors. Yes, I'm also one of the few actors jinke film pipeline main thi, release hone wali thi, par woh sab atke huyen hain (I'm also one of the few actors whose film was expected to release this year but they are all on hold even now) so there was this fear. You know till March I was extremely busy, I could give very little time to my family. I'm meeting my parents after one year, I'm going to Kolkata tomorrow.

Oh, I'm in Kolkata right now...

Yeah I'm coming there tomorrow, so, I could not meet anyway. I couldn't even enjoy the new house which I rented out last year. Hota hain na aap ghar main jatein hon so you want to invite friends, call them over (it happens isn't it when you get the new place you want to invite your friends, call them over). Everything was at a standstill, and there was nothing, no work, there was a lot of fear, and thankfully Pataal Lok happened and it not only cushioned me it also gave new birth to my career as an actor, and that I can't thank enough, I'm thankful to the universe. Even in these trying times, I'm in definitely one of the important years of my life.

Also, your absence was felt in Mirzapur 2, although you made your exit in the first season.

Yeah, I was surprised, I was completely surprised, my social media was flooded with messages. Suddenly from Hathoda Tyagi I mean that's how they would refer me, they said tere hathoda kaisa hain, haaste dekha, (famous lines from a character in Pataal Lok, where Abhishek Banerjee had delivered memorable dialogues) it went from that to Compounder, and I was not even in the show, so I was like yeah... it's quite a gifting year, I can say. This year has been a gift, but it also taught me a lot of other things which I hope I will use in the future, I'm talking about personally.

So you have been a well known casting director, an established actor, yet when I Google your name you don't come up.

I don't come up oh yeah, I think it is because of Mamata Banerjee's nephew, I think because of that. Usually, write Abhishek Banerjee actor, use that keyword, that will do the trick. That's what I also said, that yaar pehli baar limelight mil raha hain (first time I am getting fame) and someone else is coming up on Google.

You have such a common name.

Yeah either I should change my name or he should. 

Since now you have set a standard in the web domain and even on the silver screen with Stree and Bala. So now if you make a choice which isn't loved by the audience, people will question your decision. Are you bothered about that?

Yeah, I mean I don't fear that I know that will happen, it's not possible to come up with great characters, aisa hota nahi, you are getting amazing characters and you are going to make a milestone character (you don't always get to play milestone characters) we are a product of whatever is happening around, so you know jitna humare ash pash characters hoga, jitna content ache se banega, ( the more the characters, the content) you get the opportunity in that there's a lot of accommodation involved, in an actor's career, that is why I don't like to think that way. I like to see projects as what they are and I like you know where I'm going to play this kind of character and not think anything about it. At the end of the day, that entire thing has to work for your character to work.

So it's very important to maybe you know, think that way, associate yourself with people who make good films and then leave the rest to destiny because I think that nobody can control.

When I did Stree and it became a superhit, it earned more than Rs 100 crores and things like that and all my friends were like arey yaar bahut ache hain, you got a career but I didn't have a career, because people were offering me very bad characters. (By bad he meant badly written.) 

Like what kind of characters?

The usual, quirky guy, quirky guy, quirky guy. The quirky guy is a syndrome these days everybody wants to become a quirk. Toh quirky quirky quirky bahut aa rahein they ( quirky guys characters were offered to me a lot) I think they thought that because I can make faces and act, so maybe everywhere I can do that. I said no to many of them, I didn't say no to some but I said no to a lot. Then I thought this is very scary because if your character becomes the image of what you can do that is very dangerous. As an actor, I think we are capable of doing various kinds of things.

Has Hathoda Tyagi helped you in shattering your image?

Yeah, thank god, thank god for that, because jab tak maine hathoda Tyagi nehi kiya tha na people were not taking me seriously as an actor. (Until Pataal Lok character Hathoda Tyagi, no one was taking me seriously as an actor). That's what I realised. It was only after Hathoda Tyagi people were like haan yaar tu acha acting karta hain, I was like kahan yaar woh Ajji dekhi kisi ne, nehi, (it was only after that role people acknowledged me as a good actor and then I would say I have worked for characters like this too, anyone watched Ajji, no right?). So yeah and then at least I have attempted characters which are very different, Typewriter, Compounder, were very different characters. Somehow people were not seeing the actor they were only associating my success films and the characters with me which becomes Stree, Dream Girl, Bala, so all comedy people. So thankfully now people are imagining me in different parts.

In Unpaused what are you playing migrant?

Yeah, I'm playing migrant labour.

So finally you got a lead role?

(Laughs) yeah yeah, lets put it that way.

Because you told me earlier this year during Pataal Lok that you were looking for a lead role and then you gave an example of Robinhood and his men.

Yeah, I'm quite happy, I'm happy that filmmakers are trusting me with the responsibility. I have done two more after this, Unpaused and both of them are lead roles and I'm happy that filmmakers are now trusting me with the responsibility of lead roles. I think it is a game of trust, you really need to trust the actor throughout to provide that meaty part, especially in a film like Unpaused where you are the soul, because you are running the story and the story is basically yours, so that family is the world of the family.

In 2020, the migrant situation was a very sensitive topic in 2020. Did you feel any pressure while playing the role, I mean it is a very sensitive topic.

Yeah, I mean the pressure was, to be honest with the character and maybe try and use the imagery which I have seen through news and articles online and give the audience that image if by chance someone missed it and someone did not understand what was going through their lives at least through this film they will get to realise what was happening. Yeah, I think it is very important to be sensitive in these matters and I hope it garners empathy from the audience.