From being a prominent TV star to starting everything from scratch for the love of OTT -- Aamir Ali dares to leave his comfort zone to learn and unlearn!
The chiselled faces, the sculpted bods and the smooth shaven chests -- the motifs are as obvious as they are perhaps mandatory, when you work as a leading television "Hero". Actor Aamir Ali dares to walk away from the exact obvious to unlearn many things in order to explore the nuances the OTT space offers. For his latest endeavour 'Lootere', Ali acquires that unmissable double chin, breaks his workout routine and keeps his chest hair untrimmed to look the part; rugged--and above all, real!
"I play an undercover agent in 'Lootere' but my character can't come across as like one with his body structure. He has to look normal and yet he holds the power to control any situation life throws at him. 'Pehle time nahi milta tha, sirf subah se raat kaam karte they, aur TV ke liye scenes karte they, but now that I am working in the OTT space, and on quality projects, I can afford the luxury of time to work on my craft," asserts Ali.
"When I was doing television at the end of every show, I would get at least 3 to 4 producer friends who would call me with new shows to offer. It so happened that I had to undergo a surgery and a rehab post that. That's when I realised that health is very important. I did television to secure myself financially, but now my hunger as a performer as an artist, has grown ever since I have started working in the OTT space. I started watching a lot of International content and I came across 'Breaking Bad', that's when I said to myself this is it! I want to do this and be seen doing something like this. So my dreams have evolved and I was willing start all over again right from the beginning," explains Ali.
"Honestly, it took longer than I had assumed to get the characters I wanted to play. We get typecast very easily in our industry and for someone like me who has always played a "hero" on television, it was very difficult for the makers to see me as the characters that I wanted to play. I have done just 5 to 6 OTT projects such as 'Naxalbari', 'Black Widows','Trial' and 'Faraz', but I am happy now. I had to unlearn many things. What happens is that after doing television for so many years, acting ek tareeka ho jata hai, you start doing it mechanically, whereas acting has to be fresh and has surprise you every single time. I am very proud of the TV shows I have done, but phir bhi TV paise ke liye kar raha tha, lekin OTT passion ke liye kar raha hoon, so I have to be selective plus it's not that I am doing multiple shows anyway," he adds.
"I have to come to terms with the fact that I have enjoyed the process so far and I have worked really hard to work in 8 TV shows as the main lead, 3 reality shows. Television has given me everything. The fact that I can speak comfortably and confidently is because of my body work in television. And that's the reason I can wait for the kind of work I want to do now, even if it means just a project a year."
While the content creation and content consumption continues to evolve with a plethora options available at one's disposal, television continues to offer shows that are termed as regressive and even unimaginative. Does Ali agree with that assesment? "Aap dekhte ho isliye makers aise show banate hain. Jis din audience dekhna band karegi tab aise show banne band ho jayenge. Here's an example, for a film as big as Shah Rukh Khan's 'Pathan', the subsequent part will be made because you liked and enjoyed the first part. If people had appreciated SRK 'Zero', naturally 'Zero 2' would have been made. Same goes for 'Naagin' or whatever shows you are discussing. I will always defend television. At the end of the day, parda bada ya chota nahi hona chaiye, parde ki quality acchi honi chahiye," he emphasises.
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