'How would audience sympathise with the heroines if antagonists don’t give them a hard time?' says actress Anannya Biswas

Actress Anannya Biswas, who stepped into Bengali TV industry with the teenage romantic-drama ‘Bhalobasa.com’, doesn’t need any introduction. She played the role of a bubbly girl named Tweety in the show. Soon after that, Bengali audiences saw her in different avatars, be it in ‘Tapur Tupur’, ‘Ke Apon Ke Por’ or ‘Jamuna Dhaki’. The gorgeous actress is all set to make heads turn as Komolika in the upcoming show ‘Nabab Nandini’. Anannya opened up in a candid chat with ETimes TV about playing negative roles, type cast, new projects and much more… (Photo: Facebook)

Makers of the much-talked-about TV show, starring Rezwan Rabbani Sheikh and Indrani Paul, have roped in Anannya for a prominent role. Speaking about that Ananya says, “I am playing Komolika’s character. She has a very strong personality and represents today’s woman who is a careerist. I can’t divulge more details but the character has interesting shades and layers.”

In the past few projects, the actress was mostly seen essaying characters that have negative or grey shades. Be it Palak in ‘Ke Apon Ke Por’, ‘Tapur Tupur’ or Tathoi in ‘Jamuna Dhaki’, viewers have seen her playing femme fatale. “That’s true. I have been playing negative roles in the past few projects. But if you see, not every character is the same. Palak had comic shades, Tathoi was a vivacious girl, while Tupur had her reasons to act that way. Every character had different layers and shades. Moreover, playing these characters isn't easy unlike how it appears on-screen. I have tried to be distinct in every project. For example, Palak’s half-Hindi, half-Bengali dialect or her naïve behaviour was the USP. While playing a careerist woman in Boron, I tried to look like a modern woman who prefers to call spade a spade whether someone likes it or not,” she says.

When quizzed about being typecast, Anannya acknowledged and said, “It is a problem. Not only in this industry but everywhere. Once someone succeeds in a certain character, he or she gets similar roles. Moreover, you need to stay fit and fab, and look young so that you don’t end up getting the role of a mom or someone more than your real age. For example, I was getting the roles of moms who have a daughter of almost my age. It didn’t strike me initially but then someone told me to lose weight. Today, when I look back, I see, it is right. Over the past one and half years, I underwent a huge transformation and I really worked hard for that.” Anannya’s transformation is making quite some noise and the actress is setting the temperature soaring with her glam quotient.

There is no doubt that it is the endless conspiracies of the antagonists that spice up the entertainment quotient in a daily soap. “Of course, daily soap won’t be interesting without a crooked Khalnayak or Khalnayika (laughs out loud). How would the viewers sympathise with the protagonist if the antagonists don’t give them a hard time and make them cry? It is the sole duty of the antagonist to give the protagonist sleepless nights, hatch conspiracies and what not! It’s no fun if the antagonist doesn’t look fearsome,” she laughed out loud.

"To be honest, playing a negative role isn’t easy. It requires a fine balance so that it doesn’t look melodramatic or too stubble. Personally, I don’t like going overboard. Playing a negative character doesn’t mean you need to shout, take your voice a notch higher or express yourself loudly. It doesn’t require loud make-up or dramatic dialogues. You can express it with eye movement, a smile or simple gestures. I mean, would it be fun if the antagonist goes overboard. Chupa Rustam, underdogs are always interesting as a villain (laughs),” says the witty actress.

The actress also emphasised how important it is to have a good script. “See everything depends on the script. Without a good script, no artist can have the scope to portray a character. If you make an artist stand in a particular place and pan the camera, what can he or she do? An artist needs a good script that challenges him or her to do better and push the envelope.” says the actress.

Anannya shared her view on how important it is for an artist to get appreciated. “Every character is important. We need to appreciate every character not just hero, heroine, vamp or villain. These days a few characters other than protagonists are becoming popular but numbers are a handful. Every character is important. There is no small role or big role. It's a character that speaks for itself and trust me, a few words of acknowledgment work like magic.”