'Salt n pepper' men...
>With serials taking giant leaps into the future, an increasing number of actors are donning that extra greasepaint to add years to their look. These are actors playing characters much older than their age. Reena Thapar Kapoor spoke to some of them
Anuj Saxena
The show has seen the transition of Abhay (the role enacted by Anuj) from a youngster to a mature and ageing individual. However, there was a time when Anuj almost walked out of Kkusum because of his disinterest in playing a father to two daughters. But he decided against it and chose to stay back instead. The actor repeatedly denies his plans of quitting had anything to do with playing a father to two married daughters on-screen. Having reconciled with the age factor, he plays the role of an older Abhay with great panache.
Ronit Roy
The actor says that he identifies with the fatherly feeling that both his characters Mr Bajaj and Mihir Virani have for their respective children in the serial. "I'm a father of two daughters in real life so this fatherly instinct comes naturally to me," says Ronit. But there is something about playing a 50-year-old that he finds extremely odd and that is the white streaks in his hair. "I've no issues about playing an older character as long as it excites me. But I hate using those white streaks. At least Mihir doesn't have to take that extra effort to look old but Bajaj has to." What really amuses him is that he is now playing a grandfather in reel life too.
Varun Badola
He is probably the only actor on television who does complete justice to his role as the elderly Abhimanyu in Astitva. "I had to work on my looks and my body language to play the elderly Abhimanyu in a different way," he says. Varun believes in getting into the skin of the character. "While playing Abhi, I cut myself off from Varun Badola," he adds. As an actor he does not let issues like age affect his performance. In fact, he takes these roles up as a challenge. In his earlier show Koshish, he had played a mentally challenged man.
Cezanne Khan
28-year-old Cezanne Khan, known for his link-ups with his co-stars from Kasautii Zindagi Kay, could never imagine that he had it in him to play a character twice his age. "Initially I thought I could never be able to perform the role of a 50-year-old. But everything fell into place once the story progressed," he says. The actor doesn't use any white highlights or a spectacle to look older because he feels that looking old is pass. He makes for a rather suave and stylish aged Anurag Basu.
Anupamaa
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
