EXCLUSIVE: Actors With A Godfather In B'Town Get Many Chances, Those Who Don’t Just Get One, Claims Article 15 Actor Aakash Dabhade

Aakash Dabhade is a lovely actor. He is someone who has been in the industry for 10 long years and is yet to get his due. The actor is now gradually coming into the limelight, courtesy his roles in films like Stree and Article 15. In Article 15, Aakash plays the character of Satyendra Rai in Article 15, an officer with an inferiority complex who lives and works in the fictitious village of Lalgaon, somewhere in the heartland of India.    

In a heart of hearts conversation with Desimartini.com, Aakash revealed all the ups and downs of his journey and what has kept him going all these years.

Aakash feels that it is important for him as an actor to make sure, people know him not just by his work but also by his name. Quipped he, “For me, it is still just the beginning. People come an appreciate me as an actor but they don’t know where they have seen me. After I tell them, they recognize me. They don’t know by my name. But people do know me by my work. I want them to know me by my name.

Dabhade who bagged his first role on the silver screen with Rajkumar Hirani’s 3 Idiots says he dabbled in theatre for a long time prior to that. He further revealed, he missed out on the role of “Millimetre” in the film because he had a lot of chest hair. “My first film was 3 idiots, before that, I did theatre for 8 years. That was when Rohan Mapuskar, the casting director for Rajkumar Hirani was looking for someone to portray the character of ‘Millimetre” I was playing the character of a school kid in a play then and he came to watch it, because he wanted ‘Millimetre” to belong to the same age group. He liked my performance and asked me to audition for the role and recommended me to Rajkumar Hirani. But then the problem was, I had a lot of chest hair and because of that, they felt I don’t look like Millimetre. That’s why they decided to cast me for ‘Centimetre.’ They again auditioned me for Centimetre. But ‘Millimetre’ was locked. Raju Sir (Rajkumar Hirani) told me, 'you really perform well and I want to use you somewhere.' I had also auditioned for another character called “Submission” but that character was removed from the final script of the movie. But then, he told me that ‘I would be keeping you right behind Aamir(Khan) in the film.’ He wanted me to do the shoot in Bangalore and he further told me, I will make sure you get as much screen time as possible in the film. - That was very sweet of him. I was really happy especially because Raju Sir said it.

The actor further shed light on how determined he was to grab the role of Mohan in the film Ferrari Ki Sawari even though he was rejected. He disclosed, “After that, Rajesh Mapuskar was also casting for Ferrari Ki Sawaari. Now, Raju Sir (Rajkumar Hirani) recommended me to him and wanted him to consider me for the role of Mohan. I was also the assistant casting director and an assistant director for the film. I auditioned twenty times for the role of Mohan but they weren’t convinced. They told me, that because the role is that of a personal help, and I don’t look like one, I am not cut out for the role. But at the same time they complimented me on my comic timing.

"So, in order to get the role, the next day, I got a crew haircut, wore three-fourths, tucked in my shirt, held a handkerchief and went to the office to show them that I indeed could look like a personal help. They liked that gesture and gave me the role. After that film, I got many ads and that’s when the commercials began.

Aakash feels the turning point in his career was when Akshay Kumar spotted him in an advert and wanted him to do an important role in “Boss”. “Out of those ads, one was seen by Akshay Kumar who wanted me to do one role in his film Boss. That was the best point in my career because he (Akshay Kumar) just saw the ad and wanted only me to do the role. The thing is, people know me because of that film. No matter where I go, people recognise me because of Boss.

Then came Stree, it was not much big of a role, just one dance and one other scene. Rajkummar Rao was the lead in the film and I auditioned for it and I did it.

The actor who is being seen off and on in front of the camera, says that he is happy, he is getting work and people are appreciating his talent, but he is also waiting for a better role in terms of length and scope where he can showcase his true potential. Quipped he, "I feel that things would have really been better if he would have had a godfather in the industry. I am always greedy. I keep getting calls from people for Stree and now Article 15 about how they loved my role and how they want to see more of me as an actor but I don’t belong to any film background, it would have been easy if I would have had a godfather in the industry. The ones who do, get many chances; we just get once chance. And if we don’t perform in that one chance, we are out. For instance, I did a very meaty role in Boss but because that film didn’t work out, I am bound to take whatever roles come to me, even if they are just for one scene. This is what happened to me. The issue is, if I reject a role, the maker might take it in a wrong sense, he might feel, I considered him for the role and he refused to do it. That is the part and parcel of the industry. We have to accept it and take it in our stride being an outsider and make it work but again people who belong to the industry or have some backing, have the plus point. One film flops, they can do the second one, the third one, the fourth one. And for us, it is not just about work. It is also about the finances; finances should also be rolling. Thankfully, now for the web, it is a very good thing for the actors and now the actors can even quote how much they want, earlier this wasn’t the case.

Well, we at Desimartini.com think Aakash is a lovely actor with all the mettle that is required to make it big in the showbiz. We wish him all the luck, love and success.

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