From Bobby to Manisha Koirala, Sushmita to Sanjay Kapoor, it’s second innings for a host of nineties stars
Sonam Joshi (THE TIMES OF INDIA; September 6, 2020)

Whatever happened to Chandrachur Singh? That was pretty much the question on the minds of those who remembered his performance in the Gulzar-directed Maachis in 1996. The role got him a Filmfare award, and plenty of critical acclaim but not too much else. Cut to 2020, the 54-year-old, who had been quietly raising his son as a single parent in Dehradun, returned to the public eye with family crime drama Aarya, which also brought back Jayant Kripalani and Sushmita Sen after a hiatus.

“My priorities were clear — I needed to be a parent. Also, I wasn’t getting the kind of offers I was hoping to get but the role Ram Madhvani offered resonated with me because Tej (who he plays) loves music and is a family man like me,” says Singh.

In the last few years, many actors who began their careers on the big screen in the 1990s and then faded away are now returning to the small screen in newer avatars through streaming platforms. There’s Sanjay Kapoor playing a father in Coronavirus lockdown thriller The Gone Game, Karisma Kapoor as a mother in Mentalhood, Bobby Deol as a godman in Aashram and police officer in Class Of '83 and Manisha Koirala as a Irani cafe owner in Maska, among others.

Casting director Abhimanyu Ray, who worked on Aarya and Class of '83 after himself taking a decade-long break from the movie industry, says Bollywood has often been judgmental towards actors perceived to be carrying baggage. “Filmmakers are afraid of taking chances and often actors are cast by what they’ve been seen in,” he says. “The downside is you get tired of seeing the same face portray the same characters again and again.” Talking about the positive response to Aarya, he adds, “These people have existed; it isn’t as if they were pulled out of a Pandora’s box, but the question is why have such good actors been forgotten?”

Ray also attributes this to mainstream actors’ aversion to web series until recently. “Many would think it would be a step down for them,” he says. “So one had to dig deeper and find actors who are talented but haven’t been around for a while.”

Actors are also willing to play their age now, and open to sharing the screen with other actors rather than hankering for the central role, says Karishma Kohli, who directed Karisma Kapoor along with an ensemble cast of Dino Morea, Shruti Seth and Sandhya Mridul in Mentalhood. “I was in awe of Lolo and stood with my jaw open on the first day of the shoot,” she recalls. Mentalhood’s casting director Aadore Mukherjee, who recently cast Bhagyashree and Sharon Prabhakar in a film and series respectively, credits “better content and good scriptwriters for bringing back actors to our screens”.

For viewers, seeing these familiar faces in a new avatar often invokes curiosity and nostalgia. Casting director Seher Latif, who picked Koirala for Maska, says the web offers freedom from box office pressure, thus opening up opportunities. About Koirala, he says, “We felt it would be a nice meaty role we’ve never seen her in before, and she also relished the challenge of working on the Parsi diction.”

Actor Sanjay Kapoor, who essayed the role of a father to a grown-up son in the series The Gone Game, says web series allow for more character development by virtue of their length. “The digital medium has given a platform to many actors who couldn’t make a mark in films, including me — I’m getting this kind of recognition after 25 years.”

Kapoor, who had shifted from acting to production due to lack of good roles, already has two other web shows on the cards. “The opportunities have definitely increased and I can do a greater variety of roles than a decade ago. Every character gets their due because of the longer format,” he says.

The fact that actors like Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta can play leads in their 40s, something unheard of in mainstream films, also indicates a lesser degree of ageism and gender bias on OTT platforms. “When I narrated the script of Hundred to Lara, she said she’d never thought she’d be getting such a meaty role at this age,” says showrunner, creator and co-director Ruchi Narain. She points out that it is also difficult to tell the stories of strong older women in films “where everything other than a story of a young hero is considered fringe”.

Madhvani, who had worked with Sen on a commercial, says he approached her because she embodied the qualities of Aarya: “A woman who is confident, strong-willed, graceful, poised, someone who loves her family and children and would do anything to keep them safe”. He feels that for the audience to be invested in the characters and the relationships, the correct casting is of prime importance. “Tej’s character needed to be someone who was charming, innocent and lovable; Chandrachur had all these qualities along with a certain purity.”

Veteran actor Jayant Kripalani, 70, who plays Sen’s father, says it was the opportunity to play an underworld drug don that drew him to the role. “Web series are definitely a lot more adventurous and take risks with stories,” says Kripalani, who has been working on Bengali OTT shows in the last couple of years. “They fall somewhere between theatre and TV, giving an actor scope to do things they couldn’t do in front of a camera but could in front of a live audience.”

However, Ray adds that it is important that filmmakers keep thinking in imaginative ways. “It shouldn’t be the case that the actors who are now getting popular are used again and again,” he says. 

Winning acclaim for his brooding act in Aarya, Sikandar Kher on tasting success after 12 years in showbiz
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 7, 2020)

"It's the first time my project has worked," chuckles Sikandar Kher. Almost 12 years since his foray into the industry, the actor is winning acclaim for his brooding performance as Daulat in Ram Madhvani's Aarya on Hotstar. "I am almost never excited about my work because I have done a lot of projects and none of them have fared well, besides Romeo Akbar Walter [2019]. [In these years] my reaction to work has ranged from extreme excitement to acute disappointment. Now, I have directed all my attention to choosing solid stories."

Kher reveals that he was not on Madhvani's radar, but bagged the part thanks to a powerful audition. "Casting director Abhimanyu Ray tested me and Ram liked the audition. He extracted a performance out of me that left me surprised. There are directors, and then, there are makers; Ram is the latter."

A man who lets his actions do the talking, Daulat is a potent character who influences the narrative of the Sushmita Sen-led crime drama. Surprisingly though, the audience is given only a few instances to understand the character in all his complexity. In a striking scene, Daulat is seen playing with a puppy — a rare instance of him displaying his tender side. Kher says the director and he charted an elaborate backstory for the character. "We realised Daulat is a guy who lost his family at a young age. Zorawar brought him up and absorbed him into the family business. So, he is functioning out of a moral debt. As Aarya and he grew up around each other, he started loving her, only to realise later that the relationship can never be. Daulat is built loyal, but his morals are not skewed as is evident in the last episodes."

Kher who previously starred in 24 (2016) notes that the audience's response towards shows has changed in the past few years. "Had 24 released now, it probably would have been received better. Abhinay Deo [director] had made a brilliant show."

Tushar Joshi (DNA; November 19, 2014)


YRF casting director Shanoo Sharma, who has launched many faces, says she spotted Bhumi’s talent when she would double up as an actor for auditions. Says Shanoo, “I am proud of Bhumi. She has signed a three-film contract with us. Her first film will be with Ayushmann Khurrana in Dum Laga Ke Haisha.”

Shanoo adds, “She was Abhimanyu Ray’s (YRF’s former casting director) assistant, then she joined like me do the secondary. She is like a baby sister to me.”

Interestingly, Bhumi did not even know she was being considered for the part. She was hoodwinked into doing a screen test. She was told to do a mock test for an actor who lived overseas, so that a link could be sent to them lest they needed a brief! Bhumi played it right and found herself cast in the film.

When asked to name her fav finds, Shanoo says, “I am proud of Tahir Bhasin (Mardaani), of my little girls in Mardaani, especially Pyaari, of my little boy from Dhoom:3. I am proud of Jackie Da, I am also proud of Swara Bhaskar, Saba Azad and Saqeeb Salim. Even Nishant Dahiya, who is not with us anymore.....”