Vipin Sharma: I am still approached more for negative characters, choosing wisely | Exclusive

Veteran actor Vipin Sharma believes that even though it is a great time for any actor to be in the business thanks to the OTT platforms where every kind of story is being celebrated, he still faces the struggle of being typecast in negative characters and constantly trying to navigate.

Talking about his observation on OTT content, Vipin told OTTplay, "I think one of the best things that happened with OTT platforms and web films and shows is that it has given space for every kind of story. Earlier, there were films that used to be tagged as hatke, experimental, 'not so mainstream, etc., but were not equally mainstream. Of course, there are films and stories that will still be called niche, but with OTT, more stories are taking centre stage and becoming accessible to a larger audience. Earlier, that was not the norm. Also, when it comes to web series, because the duration is that of two films, writers and actors get the chance to play with the characters in great detail. For actors like us, who otherwise in a Bollywood film will not get so much chance, now we have the opportunity to perform."

"So overall, I am happy to live and be an actor at this time," added the actor, who appeared in web series like What the Folks, The Final Call, Paatal Lok, and The Family Man season 2.

Asked about the kinds of offers coming his way, Vipin said, "I am still approached more for negative characters, which are fine as long as it allows me to do something different. Even if it is a negative role, it can be different. An angry father and a businessman are different, and the shares of negativity would also be different. I look for such an opportunity. I also played funny roles in one of the web series called What The Folks. I have finished shooting for a series with Gulshan Devaiah, and I think we will come up with that very soon on Netflix. So overall, I get both negative and weird characters—all kinds of characters. Now, when I decide to do a role, I think about my interpretation of the character and what I can bring through my acting. You know, at the end of the day, no matter what the character is, the audience should remember that. Taare Zameen Par was not a film for me, but people still remember Nandkishore Awasthi. I want to be that actor who is remembered for his character."

And then he shared one of his personal realisations that he experienced by playing the character Nandkishore Awasthi, which gave him huge fame and recall value for his performance.

"In fact, I must mention this: when I look back, I actually understood my father better after playing Nandkishore Awasthi in TZP. My father was like that—always angry and always having high expectations of me in education, career, and everything else that I do in life. But as a grown man, I realised he wanted to see me in a secure place in life, financially and otherwise. So it was their fear and worry about our future that made them behave in a certain way. There is also a generation gap because parents usually do not understand what their child is going through, their dreams, or their desires. Now, parenting is changing, but in our time, things were different," he shared.

The actor's latest film, Tiku Weds Sheru, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur, is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.