In the history of Indian Cinema, there have been some exceptional actors; and despite portraying the supporting characters on the big screen they always tend to set the bar high with every performance they deliver. Individuals like them have truly mastered the art of acting and proved themselves to be an apt choice for performing such characters only. However, some of these actors were born from the ashes itself, who raised themselves to be the raging phoenixes or the hidden gems amidst the constantly flourishing industry.
Meanwhile, actors like Rajpal Yadav have been cast aside despite their immense efforts and sheer hard work to perform a supporting character. The knack of reading a character in between the lines has surely endowed them with the specific skill set that sets them apart from a herd of sheep who slog themselves until they die but never achieve their set of goals. It is time we pay these unsung heroes a tribute they never received while they silently set benchmarks. It is necessary to understand why these heroes were never complimented as we continually let them down.
Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo
Failure to acknowledgment
In order to express one's love for acting, it is necessary to breathe and live a character effectively. As we scrutinize and dissect the supporting characters, the crucial element to understand is, ‘No work is beneath oneself’ and similarly ‘Every character of an asset (film) is always necessary’. For instance, the iconic Jodi of Munna and circuit did wonders on the big screen; however, over the years Arshad Wari went totally unnoticed who has been cloaked in the layers of dust and today the actor has become a history.
There have been many actors who glorified this specific area, although we hardly remember them. Reminiscing Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna’s Anand, do you remember the doctor and his wife who played Big B’s dear friends? It was Ramesh Deo and his wife Seema Deo who set a benchmark through their acting back in 1971. Comparatively, Kabir Singh’s best friend Shiva (Soham Majumdar), nailed the role exponentially, but who knows him? The only part we recall is Shahid Kapoor as Kabir and Kiara Advani as Preethi.
While we contemplate about supporting characters the contemporary actor who cannot be missed would be Pankaj Tripathi in Luka Chuppi. He is the best at what he does and offered one of his best performances in the film but all of the spotlights were diverted towards Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon. A few of the honorable mentions in this never-ending list could be Lalita Pawar, Ashutosh Rana, Manorama, Ramlal Kumar, Keshto Mukherjee and many more; have given exceptionally remarkable performances throughout their career span.
Lack of a Wholesome Script
Bollywood’s contemporary cinema fails to craft a promising script which collectively focuses on all the characters. To simplify it, we can’t deny; today films only focus on protagonists and antagonists. Supporting characters play an equally crucial role in the script but are never highlighted. However, all we remember are the Khans and the Kapoors!
The call for good script also calls for excellent actors and the cult-classic like Mr. India is an epitome for the same. Satish Kaushik who plays the character of Calendar in the film was off the charts. It was evident Satish could rock the film, but down the years we could never see him perform such powerful roles that could reset the bar high from his 1987 blockbuster.
Re-birth
There are actors who played the supporting characters all their life and failed to make a mark as lead characters. Reason? They were never given a chance. Lynching on every opportunity they received, there have been actors who started off as background artists and with time they polished their craft and became master in their skill space. A few exceptional examples include Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shah Rukh Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Salman Khan and Kay Kay Menon who hardly commit any errors and for them, it just proves to be a cakewalk.
Peek into the Future
Bollywood has had many supporting characters who turned to be written excellence on paper and actors like Rajpal Yadav, Sanjay Mishra, Asrani, Om Prakash, Ranvir Shorey and many more have glorified these grey areas. The supporting characters have evolved over time and their chemistry with protagonists or antagonists has been one special bond far beyond the love angle featured in films.
However, we are to be equally blamed as we kept dignifying the same old monotonous and cliche scripts with no entertainment value as these commendable actors are likely to run out of characters that prove their worth.
In spite of no recognition from the audience, they took pride in what they did! But now, is this what Bollywood has left them with (lack of good script)? What could be the future of supporting actors in the industry?
Will Bollywood fail actors like them in the future?
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