Dibyendu Bhattacharya, who became a popular meme face for his 'Mirzapur' dialogue - Gazab Topibaaz Aadmi - also spoke about the discrimination he faced in the industry for his dark skin tone.
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
You had a small cameo in Mirzapur 2 but one of your dialogues – ‘Gazab Topibaaz Aadmi’ – became a very famous meme. Did you expect a small scene like this would go viral?
Nowadays, social media is very active and everything is easily accessible. This is, in fact, the era of social media. Our industry has always depended highly on dialogues—you know dialogues like "Kitne aadmi the" or "Ab tu goli kha" (both from Sholay). So, dialogues are at times bigger than the script. I definitely loved the fact that the Mirzapur dialogue became such a hit. I often see myself on many memes with that particular dialogue. However, I never expected it to be that big of a hit. Though I am happy that it became viral, this sometimes gets annoying as well. Many a time, I have found people coming up to me and without saying 'hi' or 'hello', simply tells me "Gazab topibaaz aadmi hai" (laughs).
You have worked in both films and OTT. Many good actors became popular only after working in OTT. Do you feel OTT offers a bigger and better platform to actors who otherwise find it difficult to make a name in the film industry?
If you see the journey of mainstream film industry, it always tried to make 'formula films'. It mostly had songs and dances involving heroes and heroines, fight sequences, and most of the stories were replicas of past films. As an actor, you don't have much to do in such films. However, OTT offers a vast range of opportunities to actors. OTT content doesn't depend solely on the hero, heroine and the villain. Hence, it has given a lot more opportunities to many good actors. OTT has opened up a platform for good actors. However, we now see a lot of stereotyping in OTT as well, which is concerning.
You have worked in critically-acclaimed films like Dev D and Lootera but you have not yet worked in a big budget masala Bollywood movie. Any specific reason for that?
I haven't got any offer from those kind of films. Also, such films hardly have any scope for good actors. They (makers) don't have the time and imagination to explore actors, who don't want to play typecast roles. Nonetheless, I have worked in a few big budget movies like Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal and Footpath, and I am happy with what all I have done. I am ready to take up any kind of role that comes my way.
How difficult was it for you to make it into the industry?
I would not say it was extremely difficult because it is a part of the journey. It was not like I woke up one fine morning and decided to become an actor and came to Mumbai from Kolkata. I started doing theatres in Kolkata in 1988, and then I went to National School of Drama to study further. It was a long way before I came to Mumbai and certainly it did not happen overnight. I prepared myself for the job by learning the craft. And now I think people are liking me.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui had once said that many people face discrimination in Bollywood due to their dark skin tone. Did you also face any such issue in the industry and if yes, how did you deal with it?
It is a pre-conceived notion that if you have to cast someone for a negative role, the actor has to be dark, and it has to be a fair person if the character is a positive one. It is actually unacceptable for the Indian society as you will not find too many people with fair skin tone. I did face such discrimination. I was initially rejected for a TV series called Undekhi as I am dark skinned and the character was a positive one. The director of the show had later admitted during an interview that I was initially rejected because of my skin tone. However, later they approached me again, and I did the role. This issue is deep-rooted in our society as my son, who is also dark skinned, often gets teased in the school for his skin colour. Some of my friends still tease me for the same. This is because of lack of basic moral education. These things need to be taught to kids at the school level, otherwise, you will continue to see a white guy playing the role of Lord Krishna by artificially making the actor dark skinned.
Do you think OTT has impacted the popularity of Bollywood films or its footfalls in the theatre?
Yes, majorly because Bollywood films did not grow. Bollywood has now become a circus. OTT came up with new content, new stories, new subjects. People have now tasted good content, and now they do not want to revisit old thoughts and outdated film-making. Although OTT is now much liberated, it is going to get corrupt too as that's what humans do to all good things.
What is your advice to aspiring actors?
My advice to them is -- Please don't do things that you aspire to do, do things that you are good at. Choose your profession after knowing what you are good at. You should not try to become an actor when you are actually a better singer. This would lead to frustration as you will go nowhere. First, know your strength and then follow it with determination. Sooner or later, you will achieve your dreams. Also, if someone is unable to become successful in the desired path, then he or she should not lose hope; rather they should do something else and go back to their families as life is bigger than anything else in this world.