Navin Prabhakar calls out Bollywood for having preconceived notions about comedians: I’ve lost several good roles

Comedian-actor Navin Prabhakar has been working in the industry for more than two decades now but till date the artiste says, he is facing difficulties in finding the kind of work that excites him. Prabhakr, who is looking forward to the release of his regional movie Raghuveer next month, says, “Our industry, especially Bollywood has all kinds of preconceived notions about comic artistes. Sabko vishwaas hai ki yeh toh comedian hai, inko toh bilkul acting nahi aati. Because of this perception, I have lost several good roles in some great projects ,” he shares. Prabhakar adds, “No artistes should be categorised as actors or comedians or stand-up comedians, because at the end of the day, their main motive is to entertain the audience.”

For several years, Prabhakar tells us that he has been visiting casting directors but nothing concrete has happened yet. “Our industry, especially Bollywood has all kinds of preconceived notions about comic artistes. Sabko vishwaas hai ki yeh toh comedian hai, inko toh bilkul acting nahi aati. Because of this perception, I have lost several good roles in some great projects ,” shares the artistes, who also does a lot of stand-up shows and the next one is in Pune on April 8th.

Prabhakar wants to spread across this message that no artistes should be categorised as actors or comedians or stand-up comedians, because at the end of the day, their main motive is to entertain the audience.

Expressing displeasure over the situation, Prabhakar adds, “It’s a wrong perception that comedians are not easily accepted or appreciated as actors. We are artists, make us do whatever you want and we will. We have experience in film, TV, dubbing, singing, doing live shows, and anchoring. So I don’t think there’s anything left. Work is worship and so will will look at working on any platform as work.”

Giving example of the industry in the west, Prabhakar says, “If you watch Hollywood movies, the comedians are also few of the highest-paid actors. Within our country, look at Jagdeep sahab and Mehmood sahab. So, if people can’t accept us (comedians) as actors, then the problem is in their thought process, and might I say a big loss for them,” he wraps up.