Ankur Bhatia On Playing A Gay Activist In Sushmita Sen-Starrer Taali, 'So Far I Have Only Done Alpha Male Roles'

Ankur Bhatia was recently seen in Crackdown 2 and Bloody Daddy. The actor, who never shies away from pushing the envelope, is sharing screen space with none other than Sushmita Sen in Taali. In the highly anticipated web series, he plays a gay activist. He speaks to The Free Press Journal exclusively.

When asked about how he felt initially when he was offered the role, he shares, “When Sushmita Sen told me the rough line of Taali, I was blown away with the fact that despite being a bold role, she didn’t shy away. I know a lot of actors might not take up this challenge since it’s a risk especially after Aarya.”

He adds, “She mentioned that there is a role of a guy in the film, who is a gay activist and I would be perfect for it. I questioned her about what made her think that I could be the right fit. I thought about it and then Sushmita spoke about me to the team. I also took it as a challenge since so far I have only done alpha male roles.”

Opening up about his role, Ankur shares, “The character I play in Taali is Navin, which is poles apart from Sangram of Aarya. Being a gay activist, Navin has that quality of holding a responsibility for the entire organisation. For the first time ever, I have shaved my beard for a role. I even lost around 7 kilos of weight. I didn’t want to play it in a very caricaturish way. I didn’t want to make a mockery out of it.”

He further elaborates, “There were a few transgender people on the sets. I have friends who are gay and have seen them fighting their battles so, I very well understand what goes through in their minds. Fortunately, we live in the times where we can at least talk about sexual orientations. Earlier, things were different.”

Ankur, who got a new dimension to his career with Aarya franchise feels it’s a wonderful time for him in the industry at the moment. “I am blessed that I got these kinds of opportunities. The projects I have been a part of are diverse to each other. I am enjoying the process. When OTT wasn’t there, I was enjoying then and now too in the digital space. The showbiz business is unpredictable,” he concludes.

Directed by Ravi Jadhav, Taali is set to premiere on an OTT platform on August 15.