If I get a call from Imtiaz Ali or Zoya Akhtar to star in their films, I won't think twice.
Neeraj Kabi
The cast you are working with is important because it involves a give-and-take relationship. For me, when you have strong performers, multiple things happen, the magic of creation happens. That's where you build the craft.
Empathy is much bigger than sympathy. When the character is empathised with, that means you have succeeded as an actor. So even if it's a villain, the audiences don't hate you... they understand why you have turned into a villain.
To be honest, making films is so expensive and their shelf life is limited. On the web, content remains... you can watch it after five, eight, 10 years... There's a huge audience and content on the web is accessible at the click of a phone.
I do not like to label the characters I am doing or even myself as a particular type of actor. I try to do different kind of roles which are not the same 'hero' or 'villain' kind.
I'm a self-taught actor, which means that I had to learn everything on my own, as I wanted to know the craft deeper and deeper.
In most of our love stories the people are quite young in age. 'Once Again' is a love story about two mature people looking for companionship.
Adopting mannerisms is called mimicry. That is not a good way to do things. You don't start to imitate somebody, the way he walks and talks, that is a very irrelevant element of acting.
I am confident that I am capable of leading projects, which are even complex.
You have so many offers coming to you so as an actor it is all about finding which project to invest your energy in.
In all these years of doing theatre, I've been a very physical performer - physically demonstrative, yet sticking to the realism of the piece.
I don't know if I can call myself the poster boy. But yes, I am fortunate that a lot of work that I did was on the web. It has definitely got me some really good roles and a great audience.
I'm trying to do work that makes meaning and sense to me and the audience. But I have no qualms. I'm always willing to be a part of commercial cinema.
I've always looked towards mainstream. Many offers have come but they've been the wrong kind of offers. They are not the right business decisions for me to take.
I like characters that are complex. I don't like people who are simple to play and are either black or white.
I only like playing people who are completely different from me. I try to mould myself into that character.
The whole process of acting is transformation. What is your power, quality and level of transformation, define you as an actor.
Actually, I came to Mumbai from Jamshedpur in 1991 to become an actor. I began searching for work and I was all alone and absolutely empty-handed, no craft and nobody that I knew.
My biggest inspiration has been life for me. Basic survival has been my biggest teacher. Surviving in Mumbai for so many years has been a huge ordeal.
Every choice I'm making now is so that I can keep working for the next 30-40 years in this industry. These are not creative choices. These choices are to stay in the business, for many years to come.
But I'm very keen to work with directors such as Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Abhishek Chaubey, Anurag Kashyap and Abhishek Kapoor.
I've done comedy on stage, in fact it is one of my strong points.
I never improvise. I create the character and transform into it.
If the way I've performed a scene isn't to the director's liking, I discuss it, try to understand why he doesn't like it, and incorporate the suggestions. But sometimes I also take a very strong stand.
I put a lot of pressure on myself, I can't say today is a bad day, I can't do that to myself. Whatever it takes, I have to deliver a scene.
The audience basically likes complex characters, and bringing out the complexities is the actor's job. The audience doesn't have the script, the actor does.
I was waiting for a good show on Amazon and 'Paatal Lok' had all of it - good script, story, and cast. It joined all the dots beautifully.
The struggle is to sustain the quality. When I look at my work and the kind of responses I'm blessed with, I feel I need to do so much more.
There's a lot of opportunity on the web that you couldn't imagine some years ago. People are experimenting at a fast rate.
I like to play Gandhi, but I've got tired of it, though not bored of it. I have to go through the physicality of losing weight.
Money is very important to me, but its source is important too. As of now, I can say that I will never ever do films that demands me to sell my craft.
I didn't want to get into any Amazon Prime Video show just like that. I was waiting for a big series to come where the script is good, the role is good and where there's great talent.
When you watch me on the screen, you should not be able to recognise me. If people say, you're a natural and an organic actor, that's an insult. If you're being yourself all the time on screen, that means you don't know how to act.
I feel great when people like my work, but after a day or two, I don't keep that in my head. I go back to working and training. I don't rest on my laurels.
When you are a journalist, you have a big responsibility towards your audience and it is important to respect that responsibility.
I don't discuss my journey in the Hindi film industry since it is something personal to me.
I do work on stage as an actor. I do films as well. Television, I haven't done much.
Well, to tell you honestly, I am still waiting for much better roles. And I am slightly surprised that despite seeing the quality and hard work, the Hindi film industry is still not creating projects that I can be a part of.
Relationships have become like pizza and coke, which might look fancy but has nothing good to offer.
I remember watching 'The Lunchbox' that released around the same time 'Ship Of Theseus'. Both films found space in the independent cinema circuit. But at a personal level, 'The Lunchbox' is one of the favourite films.
In 'Talvar', my character loses his daughter and it was quite an intense role. I had to concentrate and I would request all the unit members to stay silent before the take.
I'm not a method actor. The techniques that I follow have been created and practiced in my own journey, ones that I have researched, formed and invented.
I like to enter my characters through a physical form first. The first thing I find is the regime of the character - when he wakes up tomorrow, what activities does this person engage in - that's my entry point. Once I get that, then it becomes easy for me.
For me, theatre and cinema are both pillars of an actor's life; I'd feel very half-baked if I was only doing one and not the other.
I am not against doing commercial cinema at all.
I have always stayed away from TV. It never made sense to me.
Avenues opened right after I did 'Ship of Thesus' but doing films where there is big money involved or has big stars involved is not the reason I came to Mumbai.
Yes, I play a cop in Amit Kumar's 'Monsoon Shootout' where Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the villain.
There are many actors who have not been trained, but self-taught means one cannot be limited. It means you're continuously learning.
You have to train yourself, think, contemplate, and work on your craft every day.
