Apart from doing films in Hindi, English and Assamese in India, Adil Hussain has left a strong mark with his performance in international films like ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ and ‘Life Of Pi’. Ahead of the release of his upcoming film ‘Jai Ho Democracy’, the actor talks about the political satire, shares his views on the political condition of the country and discusses the state of Assamese Cinema.
Tell us something about your character in ‘Jai Ho Democracy’.
I play the character of Major Baruah, a voluntarily retired military officer who lost his legs in the Kargil war. He has been chosen as an MP in Rajya Sabha. He is a part of a committee set up by the Home Minister to discuss an important issue.
The film is a political satire. What are your views on the political condition of the country?
I think we are evolving into a better democracy. But, at the same time I believe that the political environment of the country could be a lot, lot better. I doubt the intent of most of the politicians. I do not know whether they are really interested in serving the society or hungry for power. A politician is supposed to serve the nation. If you are only concerned about yourself, you should not be in politics. I think there is a big hierarchy in politics. Things used to be a lot better after we got independence. The politicians then may not have been the wisest politicians but they were honest people.
Although you have done commercial films like ‘Agent Vinod’, ‘Kaanchi’ and ‘The Xpose’, you are mostly seen in offbeat films. Why is that?
I was offered better roles in offbeat films. These films have good scripts which portray the society as it is. These are meaningful films with strong content. The main aim of commercial cinema is to make profit. I try not to do too many commercial films but I have to pay my bills too. I have support my family and give them a decent lifestyle. For that, I do a few commercial films as they pay well.
You hail from Assam and have been a part of many Assamese films. What do you think about the state of the Assamese film industry?
Assamese Cinema has seen very good times in the past. Unfortunately, very few good films come out of the Assamese film industry these days. The Government is not doing a lot to support the industry. National Film Development Corporation allots around Rs. 30 crores for independent cinema every year. So many films our country make the round of festivals all over the globe but the help that one gets from the Government is negligible. The government in Assam is least bothered about the development of regional cinema.
You had played the title role in a TV show called ‘Jasoos Vijay’ way back in 2002. Do we see you returning to the small screen anytime soon?
There are no plans of doing TV at the moment. I have been offered many TV shows but TV takes up a lot of time and I am busy with films. I would not mind doing a short, finite series though.
What’s next?
There are a couple of interesting projects like ‘Main Aur Charles’ in which I play the role of ACP Amod Kant, ‘Unfreedom’ which has just been banned in India, Danis Tanovic’s ‘Tiger’, ‘Umrika’, ‘Angry Indian Goddesses’, ‘Kothanodi: The River Of Fables’ , ‘Parched’ and ‘Yachan’.
