Kaamyaab: Celebrating ‘Kalakaars’ of Bollywood

Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Ratna Pathak Shah, Deepak Dobriyal, Vijay Raaz, Saurabh Shukla… the list goes on. They are not heroes in movies; this is list of ‘Kalakaars’ (Artists). These are so called supporting actors without whose support the movies they act in will never be the same. However, hardly any of them ever get the recognition they deserve.

‘Har kissi ke hisse: Kamyaab’, now streaming on Netflix in India, is a call for attention to such supporting character actors. The movie, directed by Hardik Mehta, stars Sanjay Mishra – another one of those actors who belong to the above list. He plays the role of Sudheer, a successful supporting actor who is now past his heydays. As an actor, he has played every supporting role one can imagine mouthing (the now cliched but then popular) dialogues from the 80's and 90's. Realizing that he has done 499 movies in his career which ended abruptly, he wants to act in one last movie to complete 500 movies and have closure.

Sanjay Mishra, just like so many of the other character actors across generations, is one of the most underrated actors of our time. He has played a variety of roles in different movie genre with audiences taking him for granted. The character he plays in the movie takes his own achievement for granted too. He compares himself to an Aloo (Potato) - a vegetable that goes easily in combination with any other vegetable. He underplays the popularity of his dialogues, suggesting he got lucky and that there is nothing special about them. He is right; there was nothing special about the roles he plays or his dialogues. However, the way he played them and acted made it memorable.

Not surprisingly, the supporting cast is brilliant as well. Deepak Dobriyal is once again in form. He plays Sudheer's friend and casting agent who helps him in getting his 500th movie. He knows it's challenging to get a role for a fading star of a different era (iss purane chawal se rissoto banana bada mushkil hain - he says) but still pulls through for his friend. He is also a realist and calls a spade a spade when his friend disappoints.

Speaking of disappointments, the film also focusses on Sudheer's relationship with his daughter. While prioritizing his career, in hindsight which he doesn't even value, Sudheer fails to live up to expectations of his family. And neither does his daughter value his contributions to the film making industry because his contributions as a husband, father and grandfather hasn't been enough. For an actor who plays supporting roles in movies with ease, playing roles supporting the family isn't easy. In a very well depicted scene, Sarika Singh who plays his daughter, communicates her frustration and expectation with a good act. It doesn't get too melodramatic but yet drives home the point.

Some familiar faces of supporting actors are cast in cameos throughout the movie. The late Viju Khote, Guddi and Avtar Gill amongst others. The director in a way is celebrating their art. Some very good supporting actors are most of the time reduced to doing a bit and piece role which rarely does justice to their talent. And they too, due to lack of opportunities, go along with it. With the entry of OTT platforms and viewers evolving, we are seeing this change. Movies/shows which focus on characters and less of showmanship idolizing the main lead is giving these actors their due.

The end of the movie does seem abrupt but Sudheer's transformation is complete nonetheless. From seeing himself as nothing special and plain lucky to being confident and proud of his legacy, Sudheer in the end embraces himself. As a dialogue popular in the movie suggests, Sudheer is finally 'Bas enjoying life, aur option kya hain'

Twitter: @parthshah2403

Instagram: @parthshah2403