People that followed the 100 posts admired it; though many felt that writing a blog is just a passing fancy that won't go beyond 10, 20 or 30 posts! Yes, writing even a single word or line requires a thought-process, how many in entertainment & media industry, REALLY have a thought process?
In one year, 69 Opposites Attract got a massive 100,000 views across all the inhabited continents of the known world; with cast & crew across the world keen to work on the film + webseries. In fact, a long lost friend from Israel, emailed to work with me; prompting me to chuckle, "you found me!"
The award is very special because a fellow filmmaker trained (and I am all humble) by me, Bizhan, from Afghanistan, directed the short. He won the Best Director Award. You can call it a double whammy!
The friend, heading the jury, wrote a very sweet note "I am bowled over by your act". Through my decade long acting career, she felt I was a terrible actor. Happens 😀 like I feel, few actors, including a thespian, few superstars and a psycho actress are grossly over-rated, but they have their fan-base! Many critics opine, these actors lobby for awards including Academy & National.. so what.. try to lobby and win a single award.. it's not as easy as it sounds 😛 It's all hard work! My role required me to put on around 10 kgs, approx. 23 pounds. It was very depressing, nerve-wrecking - to put on weight, as well as to show an unshapely body; more so, if you have always been fit, risking body-shaming! Yes, I don't care about what people say, but getting back in shape takes a good 8 to 9 months!
In an interview at Cannes Film Festival a newscaster asked me, how did I feel showing my ungainly flab, my stare froze her. I told her to watch a few films playing at Cannes, not just female actors, but male actors too didn't shy away from showing their unshapely body or not-so-perfect face.. European Cinema particularly is least bothered about the 'prim n propah' look; they are more concerned about the emotions and how deep you connect the emotions with the audience! Guess, I did.
