Ali Fazal on being inducted into Oscar academy: Diversity also means breaking stereotypes
Ali Fazal
The youngest actor to be a part of the Oscar Academy this year, Ali Fazal feels that the challenge now is to maintain the standard
A few weeks back, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited 928 new members to join the academy, not many would have expected the name of Ali Fazal to feature in the list that includes stalwarts Naseeruddin Shah, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Tabu.
The young actor, in a short span of time, has carved a niche for himself in the film industry and even made his presence felt in the west. "You get noticed if you do films with big studios," says Ali in a candid chat with WION. "I was fortunate to do films in Hollywood that were backed by big studios. That helped in gaining prominence there."
Fazal and 19 other Indian film personalities have been invited to join the Academy this year. "It feels great to be a part of the 2018 batch. Its a validation of sorts for one's work. And it has come early in my career so grateful to those who nominated me. I feel honoured to be a part of this prestigious list" So how does one get inducted into the Academy? "It's a long process but first two members of the academy have to nominate you. Then they see your work, the kind of movies that you have done. Of course, in the case of people like Naseer Sahab and SRK, their reach and body of work speak for them," explains Fazal.
The academy's historic move has been lauded by one and all. The staggering amount of people who have been invited to be a part of the academy has been seen as a political move by the academy to increase diversity in the Academy which has been for long criticised for being white dominant. Irrfan Khan, Sooni Taraporevala and Resul Pookutty are some of the Indians who are already a part of the Academy and with 20 new Indians in the academy, the country is hopeful that more Indian films and actors get noticed in the west.
So what privileges does a member of the Academy enjoy? More than privileges, there are responsibilities that come with the invite, feels Ali. The members typically get to vote for films that come as Oscar entries, explains the actor. Members also get to vote during the governor elections within the respective committees in the academy.
"Personally, the challenge is now to keep up the standards," says Ali. In Hollywood, Ali has featured in films like 'For Here to Go', 'Furious 7' and 'Victoria and Abdul'. "Diversity doesn't just mean the inclusion of people of colour but so much more. I feel that it also will help in breaking stereotypes. For years Indians have been just projected to be a certain kind in Hollywood films. They look a certain way, they speak in a certain manner - no one in India really speaks like that! I think Russell Peters should be blamed for that accent," jokes Ali.
The actor, who gained prominence with a short cameo in '3 Idiots' first and went on to do films like 'Bobby Jasoos' and the 'Fukrey' series, says he tries to steer away from stereotypes when he takes up roles in the west. "I thought 'Victoria & Abdul' did not adhere to such stereotypes. Things are changing. And the inclusion in the Academy also means more awareness about other cultures. And not just actors but even musicians, cinematographers have been included. My friend Sneha Khanwalkar (music composer) is also part of the new batch. So the attempt is to bring diversity in all spherewhich is important" points out Ali.
