Anirban Chakrabarti slams a body-shamer: An actor is selected for acting skills and not their physique

Anirban Chakrabarti’s latest release The Eken – Ruddhaswas Rajasthan has been minting money at the box office. His performance as Eken Babu is garnering acclaim from viewers and critics alike. Meanwhile, he plays a pivotal role in theatre group Chetana’s latest production, Mahatma Bonam Gandhi. Anirban shared some photos of the play on Wednesday. He is Mahatma Gandhi in the play. It was staged once and garnered positive reviews. His fans are praising him for his performance. 

However, social media is also about caustic remarks from netizens. In his photos, Anirban has been taunted for being a ‘chubby’ Gandhi by one person. The person also said that the director selected the wrong actor. Anirban also saw the comment. His witty reply was, “A huge mistake by the director! Why did he cast me? Why did I agree? Please forgive me and him.” Anirban told Aajkaal.in, “Any actor’s asset is their acting skills, not their figure. If someone comments without seeing the acting, I don’t consider it as a criticism.” 

What did the netizen write? “Anirban Babu, I accept the fact that you are a wonderful actor...we are fans of your Eken Babu...you also play the cops with ease...but, such a chubby Gandhiji?” they wrote. However, retaliation came supporting Anirban, with the logic that such comments should be made after seeing the acting. Is the resemblance of the character with the figure really necessary? Anirban said, “An actor's main asset is the acting, not the figure. Otherwise, Sujan Mukhopadhyay would not have chosen me. I would also not agree. I am the Mahatma. Neel plays my son Harilal. This would not happen if figures were a big issue.” 

Anirban plays Mahatma Gandhi as well as Eken Babu. The two characters are completely different from each other. Did he enjoy it? Anirban said, “This was immensely enjoyable. That time, we finished Eken Babu’s shooting. But I had to dress up as the detective for the promotion of the film. At that time, the play’s rehearsal was also at its peak. I had to constantly roam between these two characters. That was physically taxing. but I enjoyed it a lot.”