Actor Ashok Pathak, who played Binod in Panchayat, opened up about the importance of looks to get roles in Hindi films.
“Binod…” – When the character of ‘Banarakas’ calls out this name, Panchayat fans know that the drama is about to begin. Recently, actor Ashok Pathak, who played Binod in Panchayat, opened up about the importance of looks to get roles in Hindi films. Ashok shared an experience when he was asked to get a facial and enhance his face to get a role in a big budget film.
Speaking to India Today, Ashok described the audition as “easy”. However, he admitted that despite a good audition, he was not being selected as a finalist. He said, “I would not like to reveal the name of the film, but it was a big budget film. I had auditioned and I had an important role in the project. Everything was going well, but I was not getting the final call. I had met the director and the producer, but nobody called me for almost a week. I thought maybe the role required some look, maybe something to do with the poster.”
Ashok recalled that he got a call – not to confirm his role – but he was asked to get a facial. He said, “I got a call saying, ‘Why don’t you go to a beauty parlour and get a facial?’ I was told that my face should have some glow and charm. I knew deep inside that nothing would change, but still I went to the parlour and got a facial.” The actor said that he also resorted to home remedies to enhance his complexion.
Ashok admitted that he used to tell people that he was working on his looks, but in reality, he didn’t put in much effort. “That was a very difficult time for me because I could see others auditioning and getting selected in front of me,” he said.
Ashok revealed that several actors auditioned for the same role, but the producers didn’t find anything special except his acting. “They didn’t find anyone who could live up to the expectations of the producers. And then, they accepted me the way I was. I think if your work is clean and good, they can compromise on looks because they don’t compromise on talent.”
The actor also gave the example of Nawazuddin Siddiqui and how the Gangs of Wasseypur star now often graces magazine covers, while initially he had to face a lot of restrictions because of his looks. “If you look at Nawazuddin Siddiqui, he looked very different in the beginning, and now he is even on magazine covers,” he said.
Panchayat Season 4 was released last month. Although it received mixed response from critics, the show still remains popular among fans. Apart from Ashok Pathak, the latest season also stars Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Durgesh Kumar and Sunita Rajwar in lead roles.
