Audience taste changing, says Indian actor

Indian actor Atul Kulkarni sees the current trend of small-budget, off-beat style of filmmaking in Bollywood as an interesting phase.“In the past such movies did not have much support from the audience. Today more people are going to watch them and the growth of multiplexes has facilitated this trend,” he told Gulf Times in an exclusive interview.Kulkarni, who was in Doha on a brief visit as a guest of Maharashtra Mandal Qatar, thinks the change in the audience taste is because of socio-political and economic reasons more than artistic one. The prolific actor also spent an evening with his fans in Doha, talking not only about cinema but also sharing with them his thought-proving take on many issues ranging from reforms in Indian education, parental apathy to gender bias and social disparity. Though he is generally not the main hero in Hindi films, the Marathi actor manages to walk away with all the accolades for his powerful portrayal of well-etched character roles - consider movies such as Hey Ram, Chandni Bar, Rang De Basanti, Satta, Page 3 or Delhi-6. He has acted in South Indian films too. And in Marathi filmdom, where he is a leading star, his movies (Maati Maay, Valu, Natarang) have set the benchmark for exemplary acting and meaningful cinema. Kulkarni is of the view that the screen persona which an actor establishes depends on the first couple of films that he or she does. In his case those were the serious roles in Hey Ram and Chandni Bar, both of which fetched him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. “After that, naturally the directors start perceiving you in a particular manner. Probably I reflect that kind of personality, I don’t know. But recently I did a comic role in Chaalis Chaurasi. As an actor you always look to do something which you haven’t done before. In my profession that is the high.”While Kulkarni’s acting prowess is well-known, his personality has other interesting shades too. He is a writer, activist and a commentator on various social and political issues. He has very strong views about the education system in India. “I think education has been neglected hugely after independence in India. Educationists and sociologists have said time and again that the root cause of all problems is the ‘wrong’ education. The whole and sole aim of education has been to earn money. Students are never taught to think on their own, they are taught rote learning. This attitude has done great damage to our country.” He has founded an NGO, QUEST (Quality Education Support Trust) which focuses on educating rural children. “I met some like-minded people and we decided to form a group. We work out of a tribal area in Maharashtra. I know it’s a miniscule thing. I am not under any kind of illusion. But one has to do what one feels like doing.”Kulkarni lamented that children are forced to focus only on studies followed by a career, during their 10-15 prime years when they can choose various interests. “India is increasingly getting into this one-dimensional growth,” he felt.