Ali Fazal: People assumed we were doing a direct adaptation

As we showcase select nominees in the run-up to the mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards, Best Actor: Series award contender Ali Fazal on Ray and why revisiting the legend’s stories was a flawed but fabulous effort

It has been a wonderful week for Ali Fazal. Only days after he enjoyed a big international release in Death on the Nile, he has bagged a nomination at the upcoming third edition of mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards. His act as the sharp but unempathetic entrepreneur Ipsit Nair — who leads the segment, Forget Me Not in Netflix’s Ray — has earned him a place in the Best Actor (Male): Series category. “I remember meeting Srijit Mukherji [director] and Sayantan Mukherjee [creator] for the project. I loved it on paper, and wanted to be that annoying kid who asks a lot of questions,” he laughs.

With Forget Me Not, the director gave a dark twist to Satyajit Ray’s short story Bipin Chowdhuryr Smritibhrom. Tampering with legends’ creations is often not taken kindly, and the anthology received mixed reviews on its release. “Everyone is selling out these days, so some things should be sacrosanct, like our favourite stories. I feel that had we not called the film Ray, the expectations would’ve been different. It’s hard to live up to the name,” Fazal smiles. Even then, he appreciates the new lens through which the auteur’s much-loved tales were revisited.

Ali Fazal

It was a fresh take on Ray’s story. I do believe people misunderstood it along the way. Everyone assumed that we were doing a direct adaptation. We made some headway, but it could’ve been better.”

On his part, the actor received glowing reviews for his performance that saw him going from a confident and cocky entrepreneur to an emotional wreck in under 30 minutes. Fazal’s early exposure to the cinematic genius helped him prep for the part.

“My mother was a film buff. I had watched all the famous movies of Ray, thanks to her. Over the years, I read more about the impact of his movies. My favourite is this eight-minute film called Two that revolves around two kids playing with toys. In [under] 10 minutes and no dialogues, Ray establishes the impressionable minds of children and their ability to absorb their surroundings. While making this film, we all agreed that we all have had that one [episode] that flips our lives. Ipsit witnesses a dismantling of his brain, and is completely thrown off by it. Personally, I am not a fan of [the sequence] in the mental asylum. As an actor, I get it, but I think the idea of dark has to delve deeper than brooding faces and half-lit rooms.”

The actor, popular for his Guddu act in Mirzapur, says it was a refreshing change to walk out of the gory and gritty world of the crime drama and transform into the suave Ipsit for the anthology series. “Shedding Guddu is so much fun. I am a sucker for new parts. So, doing this series was a welcome move. I enjoyed even something as superficial as getting to wear sharp suits,” he quips.

Cast your vote for the Hitlist OTT Awards

Ali Fazal has been nominated in the Best Actor (Male): Series category for Forget Me Not, Ray. The other nominees are:

. Anshumaan Pushkar (Grahan)
. Dhruv Sehgal

(Little Things S04)
. Kay Kay Menon (Special Ops 1.5)
. Manoj Bajpayee (Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, Ray)
. Manoj Bajpayee

(The Family Man S02)
. Mayur More (Kota Factory S02)
. Pavan Malhotra (Tabbar)

Log on to www.radiocity.in/hitlistawards to cast your vote.

You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c as on the website) to 57575.

Voting lines close on March 18.

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