Hardik Mehta’s debut film Kaamyaab has a message whose time has come. Character artistes matter. The protagonist is Sudheer played by Sanjay Mishra, whose aim is to play a part, even on the sidelines, so that he can run-up to the record figure of having worked in 500 films. Aptly, the film is dedicated to Viju Khote, the sidekick bad guy to the main villain in myriad films, and immortalized himself as Kalia in Sholay. Recent films like Badhaai Ho and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan have proved that character artistes are enjoying their day in the sun. Roles are specially written for actors like Gajraj Rao, Neena Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub, Aparshakti Khurana, Deepak Dobriyal, Pankaj Tripathi and others.
Filmmakers are looking forward to doing stories, which have roles for supporting actors. Gone are the days of the typical Bollywood hero and heroines. A host of character artistes in Bollywood are now happy that they have stories revolving around them. However, most of the filmmakers think that supporting actors have always been a significant part of Indian cinema.
The role of character artistes has changed over the years. The late sixties had actors like Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy who played the eternal mother roles, Iftekhar who donned the khaki in many films, and even Sanjeev Kumar who later went on to do lead roles. Then came the era of the villains and the comedians.
Actors like Johnny Walker, Mehmood, Keshto Mukherjee and others came to the fore. Similarly, there were villains including Pran, Jeevan, Anwar Hussain, Madan Puri, Amrish Puri. But then, slowly but significantly, Bollywood underwent a change where films concentrated only on the lead characters. Supporting actors became secondary. In the last few years, cinema has once again undergone a sea change where supporting roles are being given importance.
Actor Pankaj Tripathi says, “I was jobless for many years but now I have so much work. I am also in a position to command the dates that suit my schedule.” Director Vivek Sharma of Bhootnath fame adds, “It has given space to better storytelling. But at the end of the day, an actor is an actor, whether a lead or a character.” An actor like Dobriyal has been struggling in Bollywood for a long time. It was his role as Raiju Tiwari in Omkara that changed his life. Films like Tanu Weds Manu, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Baaghi 3 and the recently released Angrezi Medium, changed the way filmmakers and the audience began looking at him.
“Earlier, roles were written for the lead part and they were given all the expressions. Supporting actors were there only for improvisation. Now writers are forced to write for us,” says Dobriyal. There are a host of other actors like Supriya Pathak, Boman Irani, Aparshakti Khurana, Ram Kapoor, and Divya Dutta who have made their special place. Actor Kay Kay Menon, who has been in the industry for more than two decades, believes that a good movie is simply incomplete without character artistes. “They essentially take the story forward,” he shares. Actor Neena Gupta, on the other hand, feels happy that there are so many platforms to showcase talents.
When she came into the industry, there was only Doordarshan. “Content-based movies are being made and people are investing in such films. Smaller films are being taken seriously,” says Gupta. Then there are directors like Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, whose films have always focused on character artistes. “To understand these characters, one needs to research intensively. “When I made Bareilly Ki Barfi, I used to take interviews of all these boys who sat on the corner of the lane. I observed their body language closely. Every tiny detail matters in the making of a character,” she says. Khote stands vindicated. After all, Kalia, kitne filmein the?