Bala — starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam — won hearts at the box-office and with critics alike, much to the relief of director Amar Kaushik. But one aspect where he was criticised was for Bhumi’s role as the dark-skinned lawyer in the film. Audience felt that it would have been more fitting for an actual dark-complexioned actor to play the part.
But Amar defends his casting by saying that he feels that if an actor doesn’t experiment with their looks for characters, it will confine them into only doing only one kind of roles.
Talking to PTI in an interview, he said:
There was an initial thought about casting a dark skinned actor. I can’t say who we approached as this is not right to say. During the audition, you get to know whether an actor suits the part or not. The actor should look convincing. I felt Bhumi was superb for this character.
He questions why Ayushmann going bald for his character in the film wasn’t questioned, while Bhumi looking darker was. Adding to his argument, he says that they saw this criticism coming when they were casting for the part. But according to him, physical transformations of any kind are part of an actor’s job and that at the end of the day their performance is what is important.
And the performances were appreciated, no doubt!