Talktime | Anup Soni
After helming Crime Patrol for nine years, Soni has come out of his comfort zone by shifting to films full-time. He talks to Sangeeta Yadav about his upcoming film with Sanjay Dutt and how Crime Patrol brought a big change on TV
Tell us about your upcoming movie Prasthanamij
It is a remake of a Telugu film by the same director, this time starring Sanjay Dutt and Monisha Koirala. I play Dutt’s brother. Something happens to me which brings a big twist to the story. Though I am not there throughout the film, it is an integral role. It is important for people to know that I am now doing films. When you are away from a medium, you don’t come into the mind of filmmakers for future projects.
Did you ever think you would spend nine long years with Crime Patrolij
Not at all! First, I never thought I would do a crime show, and certainly not for so long! But it was a good concept to recreate a real crime story and tell viewers how crime is no solution to problems. Nobody knew that a hard-core crime show like this one from an entertainment channel, where people watch family drama, will be watched by so many people. It also went a long way in spreading awareness and educating the society.
It started off in seasons, went on to become a weekend show and then a daily one. How did you manage your timeij
Initially, for one-and-a-half years, we would shoot for three months and then take a break. But for three-four years, it was thrice a week from Friday to Sunday and the last three years seven days a week. I just went with the flow. But then I realised that I was doing the same thing for so many years. I am primarily an actor and the actor in me was restless. I got many movie projects but it was difficult to take time out. Someone would call me for a five-day shoot but ask me to grow a beard which I couldn’t as I had to maintain my clean shaven look for Crime Patrol.
But you managed to do a web series, Test Case…
That’s because my role required me to have a clean shaven look and the series was shot in Mumbai. While working on this, I realised this is what I wanted to do. Not that I didn’t enjoy Crime Patrol, it will always be an important part of my journey as an actor. But somewhere you also want to explore yourself as an actor and nowadays, there are so many different kinds of movies and web series that are being made which are rich in content and storytelling. When I pictured myself there, I realised I could also do those roles well. So, I decided to focus on movies and web series. I have to take my chances and come out of my comfort zone. I want to break my image of a clean shaven person in jeans and a shirt and want to try some character roles.
You did some film too…
That was in early 2000 and I managed to do 10-12 films. I worked with Prakash Jha in Gangaajal and Apaharan. I did two films with Vikram Bhatt and the Punjabi film Desh Hua Pardesh with Juhi Chawla and Gurdaas Mann which got a National Award. Because I was doing both TV and films together, I couldn’t do justice to either. So the shift in entirety.
Which has been the most difficult project for youij
Crime Patrol because I didn’t want to make it sensational or play to the gallery for TRPs. As an anchor, my job was to make sure that I was not loud or dramatic. When I came on screen, I looked into the camera and talked to the audience as a friend and told them that even I could be a victim of this crime. That was difficult to do and it took me some time to get a hang of it. Somebody told me that ‘when you come in the end and analyse the case, it doesn’t sound preachy. It shows us a hard reality. We agree and believe you when you say something’. That was the biggest compliment for me.
Can TV popularity bring good rolesij
We will have to keep taking chances, be patient and not be presumptuous. I can’t expect that to happen overnight. Maybe I will have to do 10 smaller roles to get one big role but I am ready to do that. My struggle as an actor has started. TV popularity is much higher than films because of its wide reach. If I will do a movie, it will take four to eight months to get to the big screens and if it works, then only you will be appreciated. On TV, you do something, it comes on air every week, viewers like your work and you get popular.
But right now, TV doesn’t offer a variety for good roles and storyline. There are certain restrictions on TV as far as story and content are concerned because they are focused on a particular kind of audience. In cinema, you get to work with different filmmakers and there is a variety of work.
