Ashok Kumar Beniwal will soon be seen in the film Jahangir National University, where he will play the role of a gay college professor. Though he said that if this was offered to him early in his career, he wouldn’t have accepted it, he was quite happy to go out of his comfort zone now.
He shared that it was during the lockdown that he got in touch with the director of the movie, who had been a good friend of his since Zila Ghaziabad days, and that’s when he was told about the movie and the role, which the director thought was perfect for him.
He said, “He said he has a new film going on the floor, and it has a character, a professor who is gay, which he thought would be perfect for me. It was a big deal that he thought I would fit into that character. I was very happy. I felt that if I had been given such a character at the beginning of my career, around fifteen years ago, I might not have been able to do it. But when he mentioned it, I felt a great thrill inside.”
“It was a very challenging role for me, and it was fun and very interesting. So many emotions arose, and I was very happy that he kept me in mind for such a character, visualized me in that role, and cast me, which turned out to be perfect. I appreciate his perspective. I felt really grateful. That’s how it started,” he added.
Ashok also shared that even while he was off-camera on the set, he would still stay in his character and interact with others so much that this natural transition was appreciated by everyone.
“There was always a crowd of about 200 to 500 people on the set every day. I became so naturally involved in the character that when there were scenes involving functions and when I wore a saree for the first time, the automatic transformation into the character was really appreciated by everyone. I enjoyed it a lot. Even after almost one to three months of playing this character, my gestures and posture still reflected the role. I realized that even during get-togethers with this group, they would say, ‘Oh, Professor Bhaskar has arrived!’ This meant that his mannerisms, body language, and everything about him were slowly extracted from me,” he said.
“It was a unique experience for me because, in the past, I had always played roles like army officers, police officers, judges, advocates, and mostly strong characters. My look and personality have always matched these types of roles. But for the first time, I got a role completely opposite to my own personality. The fact that Vinay Ji gave me this role is the biggest thing. I highly appreciate that he considered me suitable for this character, and it fit perfectly. I completely lived up to it, so I am fully satisfied. Definitely, I have high hopes for this character. I believe the public will really like it, and I am quite sure about that."
