From playing the lead opposite actor Judi Dench in Victoria & Abdul (2017) to starring in the Fast & Furious franchise, actor Ali Fazal has made a mark for himself in international cinema. Recently, after his appearance in the Gerard Butler-starrer Kandahar, Fazal’s wife, actor Richa Chadha, penned an appreciation post for his performance and said, “Do I think he would be celebrated more if he was not an outsider? Absolutely!”

Ask if he echoes the sentiment and Fazal says, “Yes, sometimes I do feel that I might have to work twice as hard to be seen here [in India]. When I have to promote my international projects here, I have to go out of my way and hope that someone supports me. The last time I experienced this was while promoting Death On The Nile (2022).”

The 36-year-old admits that not being noticed enough as an outsider “used to affect” him, but not anymore. He adds, “At the time of Victoria & Abdul, I had no money to spend on PR, as it was expensive. I was at the mercy of the film studio. We’d not had an Indian actor play the lead role in a Hollywood film in a long time, so it was definitely a big deal. Last time, it was (late actor) Shashi Kapoor sahab in Shakespeare Wallah (1965). But since I couldn’t afford a PR, it acted as a reminder for me. Tab mujhe laga, agar mere paas paisa hota, toh I would have killed it [by doing proper PR for myself].”

The actor says he doesn’t believe in asking for favours. “We all have pride. So, I will never say, ‘Sir, ek tweet kar do’. I respect people who reach out and appreciate my work. Thankfully, there are some good people in the industry,” he ends.