ALI ASGAR is famous for his Dadi (grandmother) avatar in comedy shows on the small screen, and can easily make one laugh with a slight change of his facial expressions. The actor, who made us roll on the floor laughing at his comedy, was in the city to promote the film Amavas, along with lead actor Sachiin Joshi and director Bhushan Patel. He plays the role of a caretaker of a haunted castle, Goring, in London, in the classic horror film that releases today.
Given that he has always been associated with Dadi, the actor made it a point straight off the bat to thank the producer and director for not making him play a woman! Emphasising on the fact that he intends to come out of the stereotypical role of a comedian, he said, “I am glad I am playing the role of a man and not a woman! I certainly want to change my image as only a comedian, and I want to do other roles now. I am not complaining as the phase of Dadi was an important part of my life. But I don’t want to become stagnant, and as an actor, I am hungry for different kind of roles.”
Asgar is excited about his first horror outing and says, “This is my first horror film and I am looking forward to seeing the end result on screen, as I haven’t watched the entire film yet.” Though his character Goti will bring some comic relief to the film, Asgar is quick to point out that it’s not to be mistaken for a horror-comedy film. Coincidentally, the castle has a real caretaker, an elderly British woman. “Her hair, eyebrows and face were all white. She would boss us around in her British accent. She was a very finicky lady and very particular about the antiques in the castle,” said Asgar, who is a fan of the Hollywood movie The Exorcist (1973), and chooses to watch films that won’t rob him of his sleep at night. He has also been a fan of the Ramsay Brothers and points out how the genre has changed with time. “Now, when we see films like Raat, Veerana, and Purana Mandir we laugh at them, but when we were kids they did scare us. A lot has changed with the demands of the audiences, the advancements in technology, storytelling and more,” explains Asgar, who is convinced that this film will scare the living daylights out of fans of the genre.
Commenting on the challenges of acting in a horror film, he says, “It’s very different from a regular film. Here we have to imagine a ghost we cannot see, and react to the makebelieve situation.” He continues, “Every character is challenging and according to me, comedy is most difficult. It’s very difficult to make people laugh and also feel scared. And the easiest is rona dhona (crying).” Dodging the question of his return to Kapil Sharma’s show, the funny man quipped, “Sachiin has signed me for three films — Amavas Returns, Fir Aayi Amavas and Amavas Reloaded. I am contractually bound.”
Before Asgar signed off with the message of ‘Do watch Amavas’, he confirmed that he will return to the city soon, as we will also see him in different roles in a new web series.