Getting ready for a role isn’t just the Naseer-Shabana-Om brigade’s prerogative any longer
31 October 2006 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Among my favourite performances of 2006, Sushmita Sen in Chingari would rank really high. As she discarded her femme-fatale's image to get completely into character as the down-to-earth rustic prostitute in Kalpana Lajmi's Chingari you know an actor is at work…And Sushmita gives all of herself to Chingari regardless of resources reach and reputation.
At the beginning of this year I saw another commercial actor at work. Dino Morea's elegant salsa steps in Holiday leave a deep dent in your psyche. Dino spent nearly six months getting his unusual steps right. The results are there for all to see. He doesn't dance, he glides across the polished frames with a style and elegance you thought you would never see after Kamal Haasan in K. Vishwanath's Sagara Sangamam. It takes a lot for a male star to discard the traditional postures of machismo to play roles on screen that require him to do delicate things. Dino has carried off the delicate dancing with muted machismo. Here's an actor craving for meaty opportunities. Pining to prove there's more to his personality than meets the sigh. Even the other pinned-up boy John Abraham is completely unrecognizable as the meditative Gandhian reformist in Deepa Mehta's stunning Water. …
Mainstream actors have always been ready to stretch themselves for a role. Trouble is, no one wants them to be anything but stars. Audiences don't like seeing their favourite stars change their looks or personality. Salman's droopy hair in Tere Naam or Aamir's rising mouche in Mangal Pandey are fine. But when Anil Kapoor added 20 kilos to his girth in Badhai Ho Badhai they booed him out. "I don't mind working on myself for a role if it's worth it. But what's the point of stretching yourself when finally you don't have an audience?" Reasons Madhavan who grew his hair long and worked on a beefy fighter's look for his new Tamil film Thambi. ….read more
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