Showing posts with label Faisal Malik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faisal Malik. Show all posts
Faisal Malik roped in as Kumbhkaran in Ramayana; joins Ranbir Kapoor, Yash
10:18 AM
Deep Saxena (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 16, 2026)
Filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari’s magnum opus Ramayana has sparked casting buzz since its announcement. While actor Bobby Deol was earlier linked to the role of Kumbhakaran, younger brother of Ravan (Yash), that has now been denied.
We have exclusively learnt that Faisal Malik, known for his role in Panchayat and recently seen in Subedaar, will play the mighty warrior. He has already completed the first schedule of the film, slated for release this Diwali.
A source said, “He joined Yash for the introductory Kumbhakaran scene at Prime Focus studio in Mumbai, shot with an international action crew. The sequences are heavy on graphics — similar to Avatar.”
The source added that the major fight sequences, part of the second installment, are yet to be filmed. “His height and heavily built frame perfectly suit the character,” they noted. The Ramayana team has not officially confirmed the cast, and Faisal Malik declined to comment. Meanwhile, actor Raghav Juyal has been linked to the role of Ravan’s son Meghnath, though this remains unconfirmed.
The film’s first look was reportedly slated for Ram Navami (March 27) at the Gateway of India, but the unveiling has been delayed. Besides Ranbir Kapoor and Sai Pallavi, the cast includes Sunny Deol as Hanuman, Ravi Dubey as Lakshman, Arun Govil as Dashrath.
2020: The year of the other actor
8:23 AM
Niharika Lyra Dutt - Paatal Lok
Sure, the unlikeliest leads shone on the small screen. But 2020 was really about discovering faces you would've inevitably missed at the movies
Mayank Shekhar (MID-DAY; December 31, 2020)
Who was the face of 2020 — cinema and series included? No doubt, Pankaj Tripathi! Just look at the year he's had, while the world was reeling in darkness. He offered inimitable lightness of touch across platforms — as the travel agent Tony in Angrezi Medium, Ovi Mahajan Sr in the Hollywood blood-fest Extraction, reprising Kaleen Bhaiya in the desi blood-fest Mirzapur 2. Or playing its opposite, the lovable, colonel father in Gunjan Saxena; carrying forward the immense charm in Anurag Basu's Ludo, and the solid series, Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors.
Likewise, how could you take your eyes off Jaideep Ahlawat in Paatal Lok, or Jitendra Kumar in both Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Panchayat. Or not fall for the easy-going Pratik Gandhi as Harshad Mehta in Scam 1992, or Shreya Chaudhary in Bandish Bandits (even the male lead Ritwik Bhowmik), apart from veterans Naseeruddin Shah, Atul Kulkarni, especially the quiet Sheeba Chaddha.
Leads and even key supporting cast apart, ones who stood out in 2020 though, I think, were second/third row, pretty much unknown actors, in relatively bit parts, shining still, as they got to explore their roles further.
Which is what a series (as against a film) allows for. In that sense, this was the year of the casting director, besides content, being king. I couldn't help but notice with immense joy some fresh faces, who'd be relegated to walk-on parts, or 'junior artistes', if you may, in traditional Bollywood!
Chandan Roy (Vikas), Faisal Malik (Prahlad), Panchayat
Yes, this is the glowingly warm show about the urban gram sachiv (Jitendra Kumar) and the rural prashan pati (the great Raghubir Yadav). But you take away the two adorable bumblers Vikas and Prahlad, who hang with the lead characters, and Panchayat (on Amazon Prime Video) would lose half its punch (lines/moments)! They're so good. But who are they? Exactly! Hope to see more of them.
Niharika Lyra Dutt (Sara), Swastika Mukherjee (Dolly), Paatal Lok
Paatal Lok (on Amazon Prime Video) is a deathly gritty series about deceitful, greedy men and the madness they're capable of. For heaven's sake, you get hit really hard by Sanjiv Mehra (Neeraj Kabi), Hathi Ram (Jaideep Ahlawat), young Ansari (Ishwak Singh), or quite literally, Hathoda Tyagi (Abhishek Banerjee). And then the two phenomenal women show up — Sanjiv's young love-interest Sara (Niharika Lyra Dutt), and his disturbed wife Dolly (Swastika Mukherjee) — the softness of their screen presence blows you away, way more. How's that even possible? Evidently is.
Hemant Kher (Ashwin), Scam 1992
What's there not to endlessly admire about the ensemble cast of the financial thriller on SonyLIV, where everyone brilliantly plays somebody who existed in real life — from BSE's Big Bull Harshad Mehta (Pratik Gandhi), business reporter Sucheta Dalal (Shreya Dhanwanthary), down to the sharp CBI officer Raghavan (Rajat Kapoor). But Harshad's earnest-looking brother, Ashwin (Hemant Kher) — man, did they get the actual guy (who's alive) to play the part, or what? That's what I thought. He's that great!
Rytasha Rathore (Gia), Masaba Masaba
Sure the quasi-reality series Masaba Masaba has got to be about Masaba, and in equal measure her mom Neena Gupta. And then, on occasion, in this six-episode Netflix show, Masaba's friend Gia walks into the screen, performing like there's no camera before her, and I can't help but wonder: Why haven't I seen her before? Or have I!
Dibyendu Bhattacharya (DSP Ghosh), Undekhi
Ghosh Babu is the sort of a portly yin to the yang of muscular Haryanvi/Punjabi drunk affluent goons hosting a wedding in Manali over yet another crime series, Undekhi (on SonyLIV). The entire cast stands out for pulling off through performances, what portions of the script lacks in its coherence, sometimes. You notice gems of a turn — from Papaji (Harsh Chhaya), daughter-in-law to be (Apeksha Singh), her videographer friend (Ayn Zoya), her fiancé (Ankur Rathee), his badass brother from another mother, Rinku (Surya Sharma)…. But Bengali DSP Ghosh (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) has all your attention — through and through!
Anupria Goenka (Nikhat), Criminal Justice 2
No, I can't remember Anupria Goenka from Padmaavat, just noticing it on her IMDb. Likewise she was more or less a fleeting presence (by way of impact) in Asur (on Voot ), and you watched her in Aashram (MX Player) in the same year. Once she's familiar to the audience from Criminal Justice 1, you catch her so naturally matching wits with Pankaj Tripathi on Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (on Disney+Hotstar) and go: What a find! This is to take away nothing from the star of the show, Kirti Kulhari, widening her range from the breezy Four More Shots Please, with what's probably the most painfully felt performance of the year. And, hell, how on-point is Jisshu Sengupta as the top lawyer.
Isha Talwar (Madhuri) In Mirzapur 2
Without an exception, everyone on Amazon Prime Video's iconic Mirzapur series is by now a star in their own right, known as well by their screen names — Guddu (Ali Fazal), Munna (Divyenndu Sharma), Bablu (Vikrant Massey), Beena Ji (Rasika Dugal), Golu (Shweta Tripathi)… Yet, Isha Talwar shows up as a young politician Madhuri Yadav in Season 2, with a quiet strut, and damn, you sit up, and take notice.
Vikas Kumar (ACP Khan), Ankur Bhatia (Sangram), Aarya
Ram Madhvani's delightfully dark, authentic adaptation of Dutch series Penoza (on Disney+Hotstar) of course gave Sushmita Sen a new lease of life, in a heavy part that she probably wasn't offered even at her peak. Sikander Kher's solid too. But I'm talking about discovering faces. And, well, how do you replicate the swag coupled with vulnerability of the cop (Vikas Kumar) investigating a drug/murder case, and the rich brat (Ankur Bhatia), navigating the law. Blown, totally.
Riddhi Dogra (Nusrat), Asur
Of course Asur on Voot Select is Arshad Warsi's comeback, in every way. And a launch-pad of sorts for young Barun Sobti. Like with all the major Indian series, the ensemble cast is killing it too. Sometimes though, I suspect, it's just about a presence on screen — the fact that they're there; not even doing or saying much, but looking every bit in the moment. That's what viscerally draws you in towards them. That was Riddhi Dogra as a mid-level CBI officer to me. Just there!
It did not require a lot of hard work when you are working with an actor like Raghubir Yadav-Faisal Malik
8:25 AM
Sammohinee Ghosh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 17, 2020)
If you remember the character of Inspector Gopal Singh in Anurag Kashyap’s gangland epic series -- Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012), it means Faisal Malik has stayed with you. The lockdown hasn’t been about leisure for Malik. The actor, who also runs a production house, is currently perfecting projects he was already on before the over 50-day lockdown came into force. “One of my productions was due for release, but the lockdown has delayed deadlines. However, the work goes on,” he says.
Malik coordinates with his team on video conference regularly. He confesses he has not been able to cultivate a new hobby, unlike most others. He further says, “Once we get caught up with work, we keep giving in to that whirlwind. I keep wishing for a scope to hone my passion, but none of that doesn’t happen.” The actor-cum-producer’s cooking trials have left him in awe of what most Indian women have been doing for years. Malik can’t fathom how homemakers or working women cook on a daily basis. “The toil and thought that goes into a dish is unimaginable,” he admits.
Ask him if he has prepared anything fancy and he says, “I took YouTube lessons and made some pasta and kofta.” About his recent success with the insistent and heartful rusticity of Prahlad in the OTT series Panchayat, Malik says, “It did not require a lot of hard work when you are working with an actor like Raghubir Yadav. He leaves his dialogues with an intonation that makes my part spontaneous.” He explains why he doesn’t intend to write a script on the Coronavirus pandemic. The actor says, “The topic has become a trope. I think like a producer and want to offer something fresh.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)