It took a while for actor Ali Fazal to realise the true honour of getting nominated under the best actor category at the Asian Contents Awards by Busan Film Festival.
“I honestly didn’t know what it was because I didn’t read it (the news) properly. Then, my manager called me to inform me that it’s frigging Busan fest, after which we spoke to the festival people. It’s a big deal and nice to be among good bunch of people,” tells us an ecstatic Fazal, who was caught up with the filing of his upcoming project, Khufiya.
But like it’s said, ‘better late than never’ and now, Fazal realises that the nod is a “nice bonus” as it brings one under the spotlight, both on the national and international turf.
Fazal has been nominated for his role of Ipsit Nair, a man who is struggling with mental breakdown, in Forget Me Not , one of the four films in the Ray anthology.
He admits that all international recognitions act as propellers to one’s career as “people over there notice you”.
Right now, India is on the map, with regards to its entertainment, feels Fazal, adding that there’s still a long way to go. “It has become a level playing field now. There are a lot of people who’ve branched out. But the problem is that we’ve not championed our own for a long time, and that’s what is needed,” he explains.
As far as his career is concerned, Fazal admits he’s “much more satisfied” as an actor than he was a year ago. However, it also comes along with a new set of difficulties.
“Making decisions has become hard because my unique problem is that I have one foot in the West and one foot here. I recently lost a very big show in India and I felt bad because mere paas dates nahi hai. But that’s a good problem and I’m not complaining,” he says, and is quick to add, “However, I’ve to be extra careful now what I’m choosing on both sides. I’ve to give time to both because I don’t want to leave home and this is just a great time for us. There’s a lot to be told and less time because kahaniyon se hi humara itihaas banega.”
The BIFF award ceremony will be held on October 7, in a hybrid way — online and on-site — and the Mirzapur actor shares that he’ll be attending the festival online, as “safety is of prime importance at the moment”.