Ankhon Dekhi Turns 10: This Masterpiece Proves Sanjay Mishra Is An Unsung Hero

Rajat Kapoor’s Ankhon Dekhi is a haunting portrayal of a man on the brink of self-abnegation, looking for reasons to cling to the illusion called life, finding it increasingly hard to go through the motions of existence.

Actor Sanjay Mishra’s Everyman act was exemplary. He has been struggling in Bollywood since 1989. Finally, the immensely gifted actor got his dues with his stellar naturalistic performance. Having played sidekicks and slimeballs for most of his career this Patna-born actor seemed stumped by the success and respectability that this one role belatedly brought him.

“Bahot sukoon milta hai jab log ek kalaakar ko izzat dete hain(there is much relief when an artiste is accorded respect).Bahot dhakke khaaye hain(I’ve struggled a lot). Ankhon Dekhi has changed my life and career,” Sanjay Mishra told Zoom. He began his film career with walk-on parts in Ketan Mehta’s Oh Darling Yeh Hai India and Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya and then went on to play all sorts of oddballs and idiots. Golmaal se lekar jo bhi mila sab kiya(I did every role that I could get). This industry is not too kind to actors from outside Mumbai. I am a hungry actor. I took on whatever role I got,” confessed the actor humbly.

Naseeruddin Shah was Rajat Kapoor’s first choice to play the eponymous Bauji in Ankhon Dekhi the lower middle-class patriarch who one fine day decides he would only believe what he sees with his own eyes and not go by perceptions.

After seeing the film critics in one voice have singled out Sanjay Mishra as the actor who doesn’t act at all.

“It feels wonderful when I am told no one else could’ve played the role. Actually, Ankhon Dekhi is not my first lead role. I played the lead a year ago in a film called Saare Jahan Se Mehnga. But no one noticed. Iss baar nishana lag gaya(this time I’ve hit bull’s eye). I don’t know why Rajat chose me to play Bauji. But I am glad I did. After playing this character I feel I own it.”

When told he should have won the National award for Ankhon Dekhi Sanjay Mishra quipped, “Abb hum kya bolen National award ke baare mein? Usske liye danda lekar khada hona padta hai. Akshay Kumar ko mila na…(what can I say about the National award. One has to stand with a stick for that…)”

Sanjay Mishra who effortlessly gravitates from Ankhon Dekhi to Golmaal finds the dichotomy in audiences’ tastes hard to explain. He finds the shortage of viewership for offbeat realistic cinema not so hard to explain. He concluded, “Good reviews don’t always translate into good revenues because perhaps reviews have lost their credibility. Kyunki takkey ser bhaji takkey ser khaja (there is no discerning element) However I am confident that films like Ankhon Dekhi, Masaan and Newton which are unanimously applauded by critics, ultimately find their audience. However I repeat, if cinema is changing, then film journalism also needs to change.”