Part 2
The reason being the storyline of the film, the total package, director’s ability, the actor’s involvement, the character’s freshness and newness and the actor’s talent to reach out to the audience through the character- a combination of these can create a lasting impression on the minds and hearts of the audience, by a film and an actor or his/ her performance. To enjoy a film after watching it and to like it or years to come and at the same time to remember an actor’s performance in it- these two things are quite different from each other. Lets not forget about our very own Assamese film, ‘Dr.Bezbaruah’ and Brajen Barua’s performance in it; which remains immortal till date. Again, ‘Itu Xitu Bohutu’ and Sarat Das’s performance in it, the character of ‘Gobor’ which he played in it. At last but not the least, Phani Sarma and ‘Siraj’. These are some memorable Assamese films and memorable characters which cannot be easily erased from the minds of the audience.
Amitabh Bachchan was honored with the Best Actor National Award for his performance in ‘Agneepath’; but it is to be mentioned here that how many of us remember his performance in the film. The audience has mainly remembered him for his outstanding performance in ‘Deewar’. But in this film, the credit mostly goes to the dialogue-screenplay writer. The same is the case for his another film ‘Zanzeer’. Which film will stand out for Shah Rukh Khan as his best performance till date? One and only ‘Swadesh’. But no business like success/ failure can be associated with this remembrance. The only factor is the film’s overall package and the actor’s immortal performance in it. Undoubtedly, Shah Rukh Khan’s biggest blockbuster ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ is still running to full houses in many cinema halls across the country but can this film be deemed as his best performance or film?
There is no end to Dharmendra’s movies in counting. Going by the box office success, that list is an unending one, but one film which stands out is- Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Satyakam’. Many have not watched the movie but the ones who have done it, effortlessly mentions that ‘Satyakam’ and Dharmendra are inseparable. Guru Dutt and Pyasa, Dev Anand and Guide, Manoj Kumar and Upkaar, Pran and Zanzeer, Premnath and Johny Mera Naam, Raj Kapoor and Sangam, Dilip Kumar and Gopi, Madhubala and Mughal –e- Azam, Nutan and Sujata, Nana Patekar and Pratighaat, Zeenat Aman and Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Hema Malini and Dreamgirl, Sridevi and Sadma, Anupam Kher and Saransh, Amjad Khan and Sholay, Kamal Hassan and Nayakan, Runu Devi and Sandhyaraag, etc to name a few.
But there is an opposite rule and exception to it too. At times audience even feel that an actor has not exactly fit himself/ herself into the said role or character. But inspite of that role/ actor becomes immortal. The reason behind they become inseparable part of the film. Take for example: Nana Patekar’s role in Prakash Jha’s ‘Apaharan’. Nana Patekar enacts the role of a villain. Whereas, audience often wants to see Nana Patekar in mostly aggressive and revolutionary roles. But still Nana Patekar is remembered in this film for his acting. In Satyajit Ray’s film ‘Abhijan’, one of his favourite actor, Soumitra played the role of a truck driver. But many an audience felt that Soumitra did not fit into the role of a truck driver; but Soumitra’s character still remains immortal in the film. Such examples exist in Assamese films too. Arun Sarma’s character of Moti driver in ‘Sandhyaraag’ is one but audience felt that his character was much sophisticated than required.
But still audience remembers his acting in the film because of the importance of the character in the film. But noteworthy here is that such immortal roles are not always written for every actor. Mostly, if audience cannot fill a character’s interlinkage to a film, then such characters and are forgotten.
Translated from original Assamese by KADAMBINI THAKUR
