'It scared me...': Abhishek Banerjee on being stereotyped after 'Stree'
What's the story
Actor Abhishek Banerjee, known for his roles in Stree and Paatal Lok, recently spoke about how these performances changed his career. In an interview with Mathrubhumi English, he shared that the success of Stree made him feel like he had a place in Bollywood. However, this also led to him being typecast in quirky roles. "Unfortunately...I got stereotyped," he said.
Typecasting challenges
'I was really scared...why don't they see Mirzapur?'
Banerjee revealed that after Stree, he was often offered roles as a quirky character with colorful clothes, unique hairstyles, and an unusual way of speaking. "Honestly, it scared me. By 2020... I was really scared... Why don't they see Mirzapur, where I played a compounder, or why don't they see Ajji, where I played Dhavale?" he said.
Career turning point
How 'Paatal Lok' changed people's perception of him
Banerjee finally broke the typecasting with his role as Hathoda Tyagi in Paatal Lok. He said, "What happens in this industry is that if a particular character is successful...they would want to use that particular skill of yours in their film. And that troubled me." "Thank god I had Paatal Lok, which completely changed the way people thought about what I could do."
Role preference
Banerjee picks his role in 'Stree' over 'Paatal Lok'
When asked to choose between his roles in Stree and Paatal Lok, Banerjee chose the former. He said, "I would pick Stree because Paatal Lok is something that I know I can do again and again...I'm not very sure if I'm going to play something similar on the lines of Jana in my career again." "Every time somebody offered me a goofy character... I can really give you nine rasas of a goofy man."
Ongoing work
The actor will be seen next in 'Baaghi Bechare'
Banerjee, who was last seen in Amazon Prime Video's Stolen, is currently shooting for his next film Baaghi Bechare. Directed by Sumit Rajpurohit, the film also stars Pratik Gandhi and Faisal Khan. The first schedule of the film was recently completed in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.