Here's What Happened When Ali Fazal Refused To Film An Intimate Scene: 'I Felt Cornered Because...'

Ali Fazal has enjoyed a great run in the showbiz industry. Whether through films like 3 Idiots, Fukrey and Sonali Cable or blockbuster OTT shows like Mirzapur, the actor has carved a niche for himself as a versatile and dedicated performer over and over again. But in his stellar acting career, Ali Fazal has also encountered a fair share of problems. Recalling one such instance where he felt ‘cornered’ when he refused to do an intimate scene, Ali Fazal got candid about preconceived notions about male actors.

During an interview with the entertainment portal PinkVilla, Ali Fazal explained, “There’s this assumed thing about men and I faced this on set and I don’t talk about it because there are people involved there. But I remember there was an intimate scene between a man and a woman, the man being me in question, and it was randomly introduced. It was not in the script; it was not discussed. I come on set, and boom, everybody’s ready, like everybody’s been briefed and I’m standing there.”

He further recalled, “I said, ‘I’m not comfortable with it.’ Now, for the first time, I think on a set, people weren’t expecting a guy to say that. Why is it assumed that I’m too ready? Why is it assumed that I should be okay? The girl in question was convinced because of her character, and the brief that was given. I wasn’t given (the brief), and it was never discussed. I was uncomfortable with the kind of choreography that was.”

Expressing how he felt cornered because people thought that he was a man and he could easily pull it off, Ali concluded, “I, for the first time, felt cornered because everybody was like ‘Tu toh launda hai yaar, isko kya problem ho rahi hai. (He’s a guy. What’s his problem?)’ Everybody’s looking at me. For the first time, I felt probably how women have felt for years and decades.”

Since his international debut, Ali Fazal has made headlines with his performances in major international films, including his titular lead in Victoria and Abdul alongside Dame Judi Dench and Death on the Nile alongside Gal Gadot. Coming to Bollywood, Fazal will soon be seen in Khufiya alongside Tabu, Metro In Dino with Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sara Ali Khan and the third season of OTT series, Mirzapur.