Saanand Verma says that earlier character actors were not considered that significant in spite of being important in films!

From #BhabiJiGharParHain!, #Mardaani to #SacredGames, #SaanandVerma has worked in TV, films and OTT, and has made a name for himself. The actor enjoys all the mediums but there is one among them that he finds special.

“Cinema is the most satisfactory for any actor and the reason is simple that it is the biggest platform to be a part of. It is something where you can really feel the larger-than-life feeling that storytellers want to create for the audiences. So definitely this is the reason that films are the most important and satisfying experience for any artist. It’s a different blissful feeling seeing yourself on the big screen,” he says.

There was a time when character actors were not considered that significant in spite of being important in films. But then things changed with actors like Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathy, Sanjay Mishra, Rajpal Yadav and Manoj Joshi.

“Character actors were always very important but now they are in the limelight because the pattern of storytelling has changed and things are now more focused on characters. Now, the script is the hero. This much-required change has happened more after the advent of OTT, which has actually broadened the scope for character actors. We are lucky that now the style of storytelling is character driven now and each and every character is highlighted,” he adds.

Saanand is playing a leading role for the first time in Madhur Bhandarkar’s anthology film India Lockdown. “I am playing the antagonist in one of the four stories that is based on the life of a sex worker. It was such an exciting and proud moment for me to play such an important role in Madhur sir’s film. He is a great human being and has a mind-blowing sense of humour. Not many know that he is good at mimicry. During our shoots he used to mimic so many Bollywood actors and make us laugh. I am grateful that he thought I could play the character of Tipu. India Lockdown is about the lockdown imposed in India because of Covid 19. It’s emotional, funny and an awesome human drama, a trademark of Madhur sir,” he shares.

As an actor, the actor enjoys playing characters that are completely opposite to him. “And, if I can do it convincingly and audiences accept my performance then that’s my biggest kick,” he adds.

Reaching this point in his career has not been an easy journey. “I struggled to make the ends meet. I always wanted to be an actor, but I had to do a lot of other work, which was not acting, to survive. I started with Mardaani, but was not getting movie offers so ended up becoming a TV star. Bhabhi Ji was a big hit and my character became popular. Now, finally I am happy doing good films again,” says the actor, who has done films such as Raid, Pataakha, Chichhore, Ram Singh Charlie, Raat baaki Hai, Hum Do Hamare Do and Helmet.

The entertainment industry has been affected since the last two years, especially Bollywood. Thanks to OTT, things are looking up.
“OTT is a life saver. Also, there are many actors who had no work, but they are busy now. I think Films and OTT are going to co-exist. A movie like Spiderman has crossed the 1 billion mark at the box office, so I think OTT is not a threat to cinema,” he ends.