Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Sholay Specials:Asrani's Undying Spirit:ETC Interview with Komal Nahta


The hero is such a magnified presence in commercial Hindi cinema that seldom are other supporting acting talents recognised. One such dreaded label is the 'character actor', often a footnote when cinema history is evoked. If Ben Kingsley or Morgan Freeman had been working in Hindi films, they wouldn't have been as admired as they are. 

In Rohit Shetty's Bol Bachchan (2012) Asrani gets a long overdue tribute, as Prithvi (Ajay Devgan) mentions how Shastri (Asrani) has been doing special appearances for decades. Post the film's release, ETC's Komal Nahta did a nice freewheeling interview with the veteran actor. 

As this youtube clip shows, Asrani has a rumble-tumble way of talking and a spirit to see the humour in everything, be it his first disastrous film, the struggle to get his breakthrough role in Guddi (1971) and finally, inevitably talking about the character he enjoyed playing the most - Angrezo ke zamane ke jailor in Sholay (1975). Asrani also talks at length about the crucial intonations that nailed it and the origins of the role.

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