Talktime | ‘Acting was the only option’

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Talktime | ‘Acting was the only option’

Sunday, 22 December 2019 | Shalini Saksena

Talktime | ‘Acting was the only option’

jim sarbh | He made his debut in 2016, playing Khalil in  Neerja and then went on to do films like Sanju, Padmaavat and The Wedding Guest that premiered on &PriveHD. He speaks with Shalini Saksena about his journey and what is keeping him busy

What is your role in The Wedding Guest?

The film is a two-hander which means that there is Radhika Apte’s character and Dev Patel’s character. I have hired this character to go and kidnap my girlfriend from her arrange marriage in Pakistan and bring her down to India.

Would you say that it is a kind of fun movie?

No, I wouldn’t say that it is a fun film. It is more of a meditative and a slow film.

What made you take up acting?

Actually, there was no choice. I was not good at anything else. My parents wanted me to do take up something else. I told them this is (acting) what I wanted to do. That I loved it.

You were in Atlanta, did your internship and even worked there. What made you come to India?

I got tired of acting. I wanted to travel around, live in an ashram and walk around the Himalayas. It was a typical post-college experience.

From theatre to films how has the journey been thus far?

Like any journey. One foot in front of the other. Sometimes a beautiful valley, sometimes good, sometimes you are just walking through muck.

Would you agree that Padmaavat changed your career graph?

Yes. Because the film did so well more people saw it and consequently I got more roles.

History says that Malik Kafur was a great General. In the movie the role is somewhat diluted. What made you take up the role?

The movie is Padmaavat it was not called Malik Kafur. If the movie was titled Malik Kafur, it would have gone into the depths of his history. Since he is just a supporting character, the story is about someone else, the amount of reference there is is him is totally fine.

Do you have a checklist while taking up a project?

No. I don’t have one. It depends on the script, on the platform, on the director and the project. There is no one particular thing that drives the decision. It depends on how everything comes together.

Is there a list of people whom you would love to work with?

There are a lot of people with whom I want to work with. It is a long list, it is almost endless. Some of the directors that I would love to work are Vikramaditya Motwane (known for Bhavesh Joshi) Neeraj Ghaywan (known for Masaan), Lijo Jose Pellissery (recipient of the Best Director Award at the 48th Kerala State Film Awards for Ee.Ma.Yau) to name a few.

Is there a role that you would say no to?

There are several roles that I would turn down. For example, a one dimensional paedophile. It just depends on the story and not the role per se. A completely one dimensional person, Muslim character in a story that is populated mostly by Hindus, I would say no to such roles.

What are the other projects that you are working one?

There are two plays, one is Constellations that opened on November 21, 2019 NCPA, Mumbai. The other is Sea Wall that opens on December 1, 2019 again at NCPA. Then there is Taish. There are some projects that are opening and some that I am in talks with.

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