Riding high on insecurity

Insecurity makes this man tread his path.
He maybe one of the successful actors the industry has today but he insists that it is the promise of seeing a better tomorrow and the insecurity of its existence makes him gives the best in all the roles he is offered.
In town to promote his upcoming film Ho Sakta Hai, Victor Banerjee takes time off from in front of the camera for a few words on Bollywood. ‘There is no dearth of talent in the industry, the young actors, writers and directors are very promising but the stardom is not always about talent.
“Look at Amitabh Bachchan, a star by all means, but each time he tries to act the way he wants to or thinks he should, the film bombs. The people do not accept him as an actor, he is a star and must stay that way. On the other hand we have Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah) a brilliant actor but he is not considered a star,” he says.
As any other senior actor in Bollywood, he expresses concern over the latest trends of meaningless skinshow. “I am for total nudity, as long as it is well presented.”
His upcoming film Ho Sakta Hai, is being claimed to be the first full-length film on black magic. Despite being a staunch non-believer in the subject, Banerjee was the man in the mind of debutant writer-director Wilson Louis as the grandfather of the child on whom black magic is performed.
“I don’t want to do unconventional roles. It is sad for me that my first film was a Satyajit Ray film. I have been typecast as a serious actor for unconventional roles. Barring a couple of Bengali commercial films where I played an angry young man, I have been restricted to serious roles.”
Bollywood is definitely not his dream destination. “The people working here lack the passion,” he says. “They work on several projects at the same time giving their best to none, once they get a hit film, a series of similar films are made in the hope of a hit. In the West, if a director makes a single flop film he may never get to make another ever again.”
What is it then that makes him stay in Bollywood? He laughs, “I am just visiting, honey. I do not plan to stay.”
Besides Ho Sakta Hai, Victor Banerjee will also be seen in My brother Nikhil, a film on the first AIDS patient in Goa.