Ali Fazal on Bollywood: “To get validation here, I had to go to Hollywood”
Ali Fazal has one of the most unique film careers amongst the current lot of young actors in Bollywood, with projects spanning across industries and mediums. Juggling between Hollywood and Bollywood, Fazal has come a long way from being the new kid on the block.
“I look at my journey as fulfilling one. It has been amazing. I came from nowhere, did a cameo in ‘3 Idiots’ (2009) and after that did some random films before I got ‘Fukrey’ (2013). After that, I again did random stuff and then I got ‘Fukrey 2’ (2017). It has been a nice journey, I was moving ahead step by step and was growing alongside,” Fazal told Asian Age.
However, as an outsider, the Hindi film industry hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Fazal, “Unfortunately, if I may say, to get validation here (Bollywood), I had to go to Hollywood. But, it is fine. I feel blessed.”, he said, adding that his Hollywood projects resulted in better work offers in Bollywood, “I can rightly say so! It took me to go there to come back here. Even the same happened with Yoga. Kamasutra also became famous after going there.”
After ‘Victoria and Abdul’ (2017), Fazal shared that he has a new Hollywood project in the pipeline, “I have signed a contract. I can’t talk much about it now. I’m happy that I have signed this war drama. It’s about the Iraq war and is a biopic. I was the first one to have come on board with four more actors. All I can say about my role is that I play a writer, the original man who is still alive.”
Currently, Fazal is promoting ‘Milan Talkies’, which has been years in the making, “Four years ago, I went to congratulate Tigmanshu (Dhulia) sir for the success of ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ (2012). At that point, I had asked him about ‘Milan Talkies’ and told him the title is intriguing and sounds good. He mentioned that it is being made with someone else and last year, I got a call from Tigmanshu sir. I had just finished ‘Mirzapur’ (2018) when he called me to do this film and when he saw me, he was shocked as I had built up a lot of muscle. However, for this role, I reduced a lot.” The film will release on 15th March.
