One of the most under-rated actors, Arshad Warsi is at equal ease in both comic and serious roles. But it is the box-office window that frames the identity of a true artiste, says Saimi Sattar
Dressed in black, actor Arshad Warsi is pacing the expanse where the entire wall is made of glass. He wants to know if there is a place where he can step out or if there is a window pane which can be opened. When the person replies in the negative, he immediately says, “It is such pleasant weather. I would have loved to enjoy the cold,” which sounds a little strange coming from a person who is essentially from Mumbai, a place which is not necessarily known for the mercury plummeting. Outside, it is blustery grey, even though it is way past noon. Still he would rather have a breath of fresh air. Rather he would find it despite all the greyness.
But then Arshad is known to take his own road. His latest comedy Fraud Saiyaan released yesterday, a genre that has a way of finding the actor. Even though he has been a part of many many comedies, notably Munnabhai and the Golmaal franchise, each of his characters has quirks that set them apart. He says, “I have been asked that each of my roles looks different compared to those essayed by other actors in comedies. First, I am lucky to get characters which are colourful and have layers even in their behaviour and eccentricities. I simply follow my director. I ask the writer what the character is like and with that information, I add a little bit of me to develop it further. Five different writers write five different characters and if I follow their vision, then I would be playing each one distinctly. Otherwise where is the fun?” In the same breath, the 50-year-old, who never tires of a good laugh, goes on to add that he would never play a role similar to Circuit, the much-loved sidekick of Munnabhai, again. “I was inundated with similar roles after the film but I did not take any of them up,” he specifies.
When one prods him further about what went into his iconic character, he confesses that he had no idea that Circuit would have such a mass appeal. “I didn’t expect anything of it. I went to Raju and told him ‘why are you making me do this? It straightaway takes me away from hero, second hero or even supporting cast and categorises me straightaway into a character role’. He replied, ‘it is good for me but it might not be good for you’. I did it because I like Raju. I knew it was a good film and would do well. But if I give you the script, you will know why I am saying that I had no hopes for the character,” he adds.
In hindsight, he feels fortunate as an actor that a character that he has played despite his better judgment will be remembered for eternity. “It does not happen very often and such roles can actually be counted on your fingers,” he says.
Coming to his latest role, he says that he plays an out-and-out bad guy as people like to see such characters on the big screen. “It is inspired by the real life of a person who married several women and was living off them. The writers picked that idea and wrote the script,” he says. There were several reasons why Arshad, who says that he is extremely picky about his choices, did this film which could teeter on the edge of misogyny, according to critics. “A comedy film from Prakash Jha was interesting as he does credible stuff. There can be no buffoonery because he does not work like that. I heard the script and liked it. For instance, there is one shot which is also featured in the promo where he is trying to woo a woman in a strange language and manner. If you mute that scene, it seems to be serious but when you put on the volume, it is an utterly ridiculous conversation. It is the language, mentality and sensibility of the person which is funny,” he says.
Arshad points out that though he appears to be doing a lot more comedies than serious films, he defies categorisation. “The comedies that I am doing are the ones that are sequels and I am obliged to do these. Truth is that most scripts which are coming to me are terrible. On my way from Mumbai to Delhi, I read five scripts, one more terrible than the other and I got off the plane and rejected all of them,” he says.
But with the change and improvement in content, isn’t better work coming to him now considering the fact that he has been called one of the most underrated actors by the likes of Naseeruddin Shah? “The truth is great scripts come from good writers who incidentally have access to big stars, the likes of Shahrukhs, Salmans and Aamirs, so why will they cast me? That is the reality,” he says nonchalantly with a shrug. He goes on to add that the last interesting film that he acted in was Jolly LLB, which released in 2013.
He believes that the audience is not stupid and can tell a good film apart from a bad one. “They can say this is a good film and that one made a lot of money but was not great,” he says but further explains, “All of us want to see a film with stars and stardom won’t die. But looking at the trend last year where the big films without content flopped, the stars will have to pick up scripts that are worthy of them being in it.”
The audience is a lot more discerning and can pick out the good films from the bad as they are exposed to all kinds of cinema from all over the world. “Even children know what is good and what is bad,” he says. He believes that this is the reason that many of the so-called stars are also doing interesting content-driven films. “In a Dangal for instance, an Aamir will get into a dhoti, go to a village and shoot which is the way it is supposed to be done. Earlier, this would have been called an art film but now the gap is being bridged. There were two kinds of films earlier — commercial and art and that is now merging into content-driven films. But five or 10 years ago, we would have called it an art film. Now everything is on the same level, waiting to be taken by everybody.”
The actor is, therefore, working on a web series for giving full play to his creative energies, Asura, on Voot, which is a psychological thriller murder mystery and will be out by May. And there is Total Dhamaal releasing next month. “I start working on Pagalpanti which is Anees Bazmi’s film with John, Illeana, Saurabh and Pulkit. It is a silly comedy which people love and which will make a lot of money,” he says. Arshad has dabbled in serious films as comfortably but hasn’t had a recall though. “I don’t have a fear of acting. There are a lot of actors who say Humse comedy hoti nahin. I do both happily without getting stressed. I just listen to the script and I go ahead if I like it. My serious stuff happens on the web and my funny stuff on the big screen. So all is good,” he says.
He goes on to add that it takes a lot to get him out of the house and “so it should better be worth it. I do not want to keep going on and on to realise that my whole life has gone without doing anything besides work. My son is 14 and my daughter is 11. In some years they won’t need me. But work will keep on happening,” says the actor who made his debut with the film Tere Mere Sapney in 1996.
Incidentally, it was the tapori number, Ankh Marey, from this film that was recently featured in Simmba starring Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan. He unabashedly admits that he is happy that people like the original better and recalls that his friend Tisca Chopra called him during the screening to tell him that people were clapping, singing and whistling when he came on screen. “They clapped not because I appeared on screen; I think they clapped because I would be gone in 10 seconds,” he says, underplaying the moment of glory.
And since no interview can be completed without references to the #MeToo movement, particularly when it concerns one of his favourite directors, Raj Kumar Hirani, he says, “Of course, no predatory behaviour should be tolerated. But it works both ways. Women use their sexuality to get ahead and there are women whose sexuality is abused. Having said that, let me say that such incidents are difficult to assess. I have worked with him (Hirani) in two films. Never was there a hint of anything going wrong. He is such a positive guy. It just hit me really hard,” he says.
Of course, he negotiates the question of nepotism rather well. “Let us be honest, if you are a doctor or a builder and help your son become one, then it is acceptable. So why are the same standards not applied to the industry?” he counter questions. But as an outsider, who has a hard time side-stepping cliches to keep himself relevant, he knows what entitlement can do to a fine actor like him.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar
