Actor Ishtiyak Khan is having an exciting phase where makers are experimenting with different roles. With a career spanning nearly two decades, he is best known for his comic timing and roles, but of late he has got opportunities to showcase his acting prowess and has hit a bulls eye.
Last seen as a criminal in OTT series Matka King, he will now be seen as a transgender in his next film The Narmada Story.
"It’s very tough to break the mould when you are popular in a particular genre. As an actor, I am trained at National School of Drama (NSD) and then in plays to do all kinds of roles, but opportunities are far and few. I am happy that back-to-back I am able to surprise the audience with my looks and characters – first a dangerous criminal and now in an unrecognisable role of a transgender," he tells HT City.
The actor confesses that he was shocked to see his looks after the transformation. "After my look test, when I saw myself as a transgender, even I was taken aback. But then the challenge was to get into the behaviour and psyche of the character. My role is extremely emotional, layered and different from anything I’ve done before," he says.
On his preparation, he says, "I met some trans people to understand their pain and the humiliations they face in day-to-day life. From outside, we look at them in a certain way, but when you meet and discuss, it's a very different experience. I also took help from an actor who had played such a role before. For this role, I worked not only on the physical transformation but also tried to deeply understand the psychology and emotions of the character.
My character has been kept under wraps, as it will reveal a lot, so I am excited to know the feedback."He gives credit to his director Zaigham Imam for imagining him in this role. "The problem in our industry is that you get roles in the genre you are popular in, and after my comic roles clicked, I started getting similar characters. Only in the TV series Yudh, where I played a joker scaring Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan, and Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha did I get different opportunities. I am happy that makers are now experimenting with different roles to show my acting skills. I am looking forward to my role as it's a very important one."
The film stars IPS officer Simala Prasad, who will be seen playing the role of a sub-inspector.
