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Aasif Khan: Gambles have worked best for me

ByDeep Saxena
Mar 11, 2021 10:04 PM IST

Actor Aasif Khan had a wonderful 2020, with the year seeing the release of ‘Jamtara’, ‘Panchayat’, ‘Paatal Lok’ and ‘Mirzapur2’. Since then, he has shot two OTT series and one film, while playing the lead in one of them.

Actor Aasif Khan had a wonderful 2020, with the year seeing the release of ‘Jamtara’, ‘Panchayat’, ‘Paatal Lok’ and ‘Mirzapur2’. Since then, he has shot two OTT series and one film, while playing the lead in one of them.

Actor Aasif Khan on his visit to Lucknow (Photo: Deepak Gupta/HT)
Actor Aasif Khan on his visit to Lucknow (Photo: Deepak Gupta/HT)

On his visit to Lucknow, where he has done many projects, he said that from the first time shooting as part of a crowd (2010) to now, a protagonist, his small-small roles have done wonders for him.

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Giving an insight into his journey, he said, “In Salman (Khan) bhai’s ‘Dhinka Chika’ (‘Ready’) song, I was standing in the crowd wearing a flashy shirt. Then, I did a blink-and-miss shot in ‘Agneepath’ and one-scene each in ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ and ‘Pari’. In ‘India’s Most Wanted’ I had a good role but the film did not work. In fact, the first season of ‘Mirzapur’, I had a good screen presence but that too had just a one-line dialogue which in the second season became very big.”

The actor said that in his case, small things have contributed to his career in a big way. “In ‘Panchayat’, I had barely 10-12 minutes’ screen presence but its ‘Chakke wali kursi’ and ‘Gazab beizatti’ memes are viral on the internet. ‘Jamtara’, where I played a journalist, was a small project with only two known artistes (Amit Sial and Dibyendu Bhattacharya) but it became a big hit. I had done a short film ‘Vacancy’ that got me three Best Actor awards. So, where I had very little scope I clicked most. Such gambles have worked best for me!”

Now, even after playing a protagonist, he is being methodical. “I am very clear in my head that even if I have played the lead in one project I will keep doing character roles. The length of the role does not matter! The only thing is that my role has to be good.”

About working in the unlock phase, he said, “I have shot for series ‘Shubratri’ with Anjali Barot which is my first show as protagonist. I have completed a Yash Raj production film which I can’t talk about, and a series, ‘Human’, directed by Vipul Shah, which has Shafali Shah, Ram Kapoor and Kirti Kulhari. In both I have character roles.”

He reminisces the days spent in Lucknow. “I have shot both seasons of ‘Mirzapur’ here which gave me immense love. First time, I had come here for casting of series ‘Gorakpur’ which did not take off and then again for casting of ‘Raid’ when I was working for Abhishek Banerjee. Before the pandemic, I have shot ‘Pagglait’ here, where I play a quirky role of a ‘rangbaaz’, Parchun. This is a personal visit for some meeting and soon I wish to be back to my favourite city for another shoot.”

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Deep Saxena writes on Bollywood, OTT, television, food and culture for the daily Entertainment & Lifestyle supplement, HT City.

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