From Fashion to Filmy Cops with #GulshanDevaiah

[00:00:00] I think a lot of people talk about the cerebral aspects of the craft and understanding of art and all those things aesthetic. But I think the technical training is most important. I know actors kind of talk about it sometimes and they even romanticize the idea of being

[00:00:16] affected by a particular role. I don't believe that it's that is the only way to sort of have a very deep understanding or have a layered nuanced portrayal. So if the pre-production is strong then somebody like me is confident that you know I know what I'm doing.

[00:00:31] So even if you change the scenes or dialogues I'm not affected by that. If it's not here, then we have to come here. So I get away with all these things. That's how Mr. Bachchan also got away with beating up 20 people. Either sale or...

[00:00:42] Thank you for the drumrolls. Hello everyone this is Kiran Manral we are on Chasing Creativity and today I have with me Kulshan Devaya. We've all seen him in various roles on the screen, on the big screen, small screen,

[00:01:14] wherever you watch his stuff and he's a brilliant actor. We all know that. In your dreams also, sometimes in your dreams. Yes. We'll see you in our dreams to Kulshan. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Thank you for coming on the show. My pleasure, absolute pleasure.

[00:01:28] And congrats on the new show that's coming out. Thank you again, thank you. Would you like to talk about your husband? I would definitely like to talk about my husband. Though he's not normally someone who makes an appearance on my shows.

[00:01:41] You see yesterday I was chatting with him and he asked me who's coming on your recording tomorrow and I said you know this actor who's been in that girl with the yellow boots and Hunter and Shaitaan and he's played Chitiyapa, he's played Mandar Pokshe and he's...

[00:01:56] And this man's eyes wide and he is a man who lives under the rock. He has no idea of anybody except perhaps Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and maybe Nawazuddin Irfan Khan. He tells me he's a brilliant actor. He's put me in the same league.

[00:02:12] Thank you to your husband. See that's why I wanted you to talk about your husband. You are a brilliant actor Gushan and it's been a long journey, it's been a very interesting journey. I'm really grateful you have that perception of me. Thank you.

[00:02:26] But it was a journey that started very unconventionally. You were actually trained in fashion. That's right. And Tiyate was something that happened on this side. It was a passion but I don't think it was your primary focus at back then. So how did the switch happen?

[00:02:41] Because with fashion I can understand that you have always been a creative person. But then how did Tiyate come on the scene? Was it college Tiyate and how did it move on to become a full-time profession? It was the other way around.

[00:02:53] I discovered fashion pretty late in my life actually. So I was always very active in the drama circuit, two short plays and skits and performances from a very young age. And I've seen my parents, particularly my mother, do a lot of work on stage.

[00:03:10] So they used to both of them were employed in a public sector company called Bharat Electronics. And they used to have groups over there. And every year they used to do plays in, there used to be language groups.

[00:03:23] So you also do like competitions and also there was a group that would travel to other PSUs and compete with each other and all that. So this was common for music as well as drama. So my parents would do both.

[00:03:36] My father I would say was more inclined towards the music thing of it. But my mother was very good at both and she was quite a sort of actor. So that's the environment I grew in.

[00:03:49] And they were also huge fans of, see when I was a young boy there was no popular music. Pop music was film music was pop music. So they used to sing songs of the times and when they were young children, which was the 50s and 60s.

[00:04:07] The Black and White era. Yeah. Just Black and White and Post 60s color era. 60s color game. 50s and 60s that was their youth. So they used to sing songs of Hindi film songs of that time.

[00:04:17] So that's what I was hearing all the time since a young age and both of them were wonderful singers. So they used to render those songs also in a very nice melodious way. So and but somehow that transitioned into a fascination for cinema for me through the music.

[00:04:36] That's where it actually began. But then I discovered fashion because yes, I was like my parents both of them they had they were both very creative people. So they also used to indulge in art and other activities other artistic activities.

[00:04:55] So particularly my mother, my dad was also pretty good. He could draw and paint really well. But my mother was I think like oil paintings and she used to do things like that.

[00:05:05] So so there was a point in my of time in my life where I my study is really I lost interest in in studies. And I wasn't doing I wasn't always I wasn't a bad student at all. I would say I was average.

[00:05:21] But towards the end, I think I really lost interest in studies. So my grades were not good enough. So and then that the options are very reduced. So somebody advised me that you know since you're also good, you have some skills.

[00:05:36] Why don't you try doing going to NID or NIFT? So I was like, what's that? Then that person gave me a little bit of a lowdown. This was 1996. So there's no internet to Google or anything.

[00:05:51] He said there'll be ads in the newspaper calling for the for the enrollment and there are entrance exams and they're quite tough you have to prepare. I said, OK, so I missed the NID entrance because I didn't see it on the paper, but I caught the NIFT one.

[00:06:04] But I also caught an ad by this gentleman called Vidya Sagar who was a designer based out of Bangalore or he had a small workshop. He used to be a former faculty at NIFT, but he also helped students prepare for the entrance exam.

[00:06:17] I had no idea what to expect. So my mother said, yeah, I'll pay the fees 1500 or something per month. So it was a three month course with him. So I did that and I discovered that I enjoyed fashion

[00:06:28] and luckily for me, whatever I learned there was good enough for me to crack the entrance. And I got into fashion. That's how I got into fashion. And then then I realized, I mean, I liked wearing clothes

[00:06:40] and I had a fascination for clothes and shoes and all of those things. But that was the first and I used to watch all the fashion shows of I remember there was only one channel then. So yeah, yeah, by the time it was 96, there was two

[00:06:54] and also like cable TV was there. So but I remember early days they used to show fashion shows by Rohit Khosla who died at a very young age. He was a good genius.

[00:07:06] So I was fascinated by all of those things and then Rohit Baal and Jeejivalaya and Ritu Kumar and all of that. So it was a fascinating world to me and little did I know that I would be part of that

[00:07:17] that world at some point in my life, not fully part of it, but I studied to be part of that. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it and also it gave me enormous confidence because after staring at the Abyss and all your friends going on to engineering colleges

[00:07:36] and some of them even to medical colleges, I just didn't have the grades to sort of be in the same league. So then you're like, what are the alternatives? So when I graduated, I got a lot of awards.

[00:07:47] I got a one national level of what's for my design collection and all of that. So that definitely gave me confidence that I can do something with my life with my hands and with my brain. It's like you ask a fish to climb a tree.

[00:08:02] So what you're, you know, you were more creatively inclined. So I will, I suppose so. I suppose that maybe if I had, I mean, that was one of the best things that happened to me. I mean, failing your board exams is not really nice when it happens.

[00:08:18] But I really, I admit it, I completely lost interest in studies. But my friends didn't. So I wouldn't say that I'm better or different or anything. It's just that, you know, I had to make a choice and it is a decision.

[00:08:31] If I had paid attention to studies and probably I'd be doing something else. Completely life in a different path. And I had to make that decision and I'm fortunate that's a person who was not known to me at all,

[00:08:43] who was a cousin of my friend who I've never met since, advised me to join NAFT or NID. I can't even remember his name. So, and as a strange person, I mean a stranger to me who I've met once or twice in my life.

[00:08:57] So, and then he showed me and I discovered a path, you know. Lovely. What I find interesting is you did fashion as a designer, you trained as a designer. Now you're in a profession where you have to slip into character. It's also wearing something so to speak.

[00:09:18] Do you see any correlation between fashion, you know, as it is as, you know, wearing a mask or wearing a garb to pretend to be something else and what you do as a profession now?

[00:09:31] Not in the way you are suggesting or but I understand aesthetics and sensibilities because of my background in design. I think it's easier for me to understand and I do pay a lot of attention to the aesthetics of the storyteller who I'm working with. Okay.

[00:09:52] For example, the director, he's the one person whose aesthetics I have to really understand. Now, of course, the other, you know, the DOP and everything comes in at the right to director. That's really important. What is the story that they're saying?

[00:10:05] Why are they saying this and how they want to say this? So I think my background in design and having studied design and worked for around eight years, that really is an asset for me because it helps me understand aesthetics.

[00:10:16] I understand framing, I understand lighting, all those things like that and how I can interact with the space that's around me. But this is a set right now. So if you're performing a scene, so this is the space and this is, it has its limitations.

[00:10:29] So I think I look at it that way and I look at a frame and I understand, oh, this is what it is. This is the aesthetic of it.

[00:10:36] So that is definitely an asset in terms of, so I think it adds more value on the technical aspects rather than the aspect of preparation of a character. Okay. It's not exactly like wearing a mask.

[00:10:50] It is in some ways, it is, but it's not exactly as simple as wearing a mask or taking it off. So I feel that my design background is more of an asset when it comes to understanding the aesthetics and technical aspects of making a film.

[00:11:09] You've done very unconventional roles. The choices, have they been deliberate? Have you looked for these roles? What makes you pick this side with these characters for me? Deliberate when things are come to me. It's a deliberate choice. Okay.

[00:11:27] And I do, like I think I'm one of those who would believe in the stroke of luck, but also that stroke of luck gives you an opportunity to make a choice.

[00:11:36] And then you have to have the wisdom to make the right choice and sometimes you make a wrong choice. That's okay. That's, I mean, you can learn from it. Absolutely. That is my perspective more or less. And this is what seems to work for me.

[00:11:48] So I don't really hustle in the way some other actors would do to get projects or for their career, but sometimes I do try. But I have been not very successful when that happens. So it's mostly a game of being patient and waiting.

[00:12:07] So or trying to make the right choice. And it is a deliberate choice and I wait for opportunities to come where I feel for opportunities that I feel are interesting for me, that would help me curate a diverse and versatile career because I feel that's important.

[00:12:24] Again, that's a choice I've made for myself. And I feel that my authentic self is also like that it wants that it craves for that diversity and and versatility in the career and in the types of characters and genres that I can be part of.

[00:12:37] So when something comes to me, then I pay attention to it and I decide should I do it or not. And the reasons for making that choice. The important things are. Is it good for my craft in terms of this diversity, versatility is it good for my career?

[00:12:55] These two things are very important aspects. And of course, there are other like who am I working with? What sort of a story is it and sometimes it's an opportunity to work with people you really like. Sometimes it's even an opportunity to work with friends.

[00:13:09] You've never shyed of taking on roles which most people would think were different to put it politely or negative or villainous. You've done every kind of role. What do you find most challenging? I mean, you've done Hunter where you played a very unconventional character.

[00:13:25] You've done Shaitan where you were like the bad boy throughout. You've done I mean even Charcut, Atmaram, Guns and Roses that was a lovely character but obviously a negative character.

[00:13:38] So has there been any time when you feel like I can't really get into the mind of this character, why this character is behaving in a certain way. And then you have to reconcile yourself to the fact that I have to put this character.

[00:13:49] So how to do this? Has it ever happened? Sometimes early on, I think because I was a little more green as they say, kacha. So there were days where I have no idea what I'm doing.

[00:14:00] I think and then I had to sort of develop a system which was more based on imagination and then later on set, you allow things for you to happen. And this focus on understanding the director, which I did not have.

[00:14:13] So perhaps a film like say for example, Shaitan. I think I had something completely different in my mind that I wanted to do and Bejoy's understanding his vision was completely different.

[00:14:24] It sort of worked for that film because I think he managed to sort of maneuver me in certain ways. But I was absolutely clueless throughout the film as to what the hell is happening. I didn't know except that he's doing something.

[00:14:40] He seems to know what he is doing. So I think I'll just go with his instinct. But I think it was almost accidental that my character was in my head and what was written how he wanted to just somehow fell in place.

[00:14:57] But that also made me understand that this can't happen every time I got away here. I have to be a bit more sensitive to the fact to understand what their vision is. So whether I talk to them, whether I quiz them or whether I familiarize with their work.

[00:15:13] Now with well-known directors you would have seen their work so they're a bit more familiar with new people. You have to spend time. You have to listen to them talk about the story or sometimes ask them questions if necessary.

[00:15:25] Mostly a lot of them if you just spend some time and listen to them talk then you understand what they're trying to make. So that is really important and with experience you learn how to sort of overcome certain inabilities that you have.

[00:15:40] That really teaches you working with other people. You see some other people do sing things a certain way and they are like, oh this is useful. I should just incorporate this. Keep learning.

[00:15:53] Talking about learning, did you train professionally in drama or was it just hit the ground running kind of with all your childhood? Yeah there was that but then my true understanding of the craft I think didn't happen till the year 2000-2001

[00:16:07] which is when I started doing amateur theater in Bangalore with various theater groups. But that's where I really learnt because I had access to some of their libraries. So I would read books they would give me books.

[00:16:19] Every rehearsal process would be a workshop so you're also introduced to new techniques and you're watching documentaries, you're watching plays and I started watching a lot of plays and I remember very vividly these two gentlemen who had the most profound impact on me.

[00:16:36] The first is one Mr. Vinay Kumar. He's a fabulous theater actor from Adi Shakti. He lives in Pondicherry. Veena Pani Chawla, she was the head of the thing she unfortunately passed away. It was a tragic moment for Indian theater and he has taken over from her.

[00:16:54] He's an exceptional actor and for me he was able to create a cinematic quality to his performances on stage. One of the most watchable actors that I have ever seen. Then I saw Adil Hussain in Hotel 11 Black and White.

[00:17:12] I was just blown out of the water. I was like, who the hell is this guy? I never heard of him. And then he was already well known but I was not very well versed with the theater circle.

[00:17:25] So here I was discovering and when I saw these two gentlemen I was like, I want to be as good as them but I don't know how. So then I knew that I have to pay attention to the craft, I have to learn.

[00:17:36] By watching people, by talking to people, by observing, by reading, by practicing the craft. So my understanding of the craft really started to happen from the year 2000-2001 I would say.

[00:17:48] And then of course I eventually did see some great actors like Vishnu Nasir and Jinsha on stage as well. And you acted with him as well? Not really. We were in the same film but we never had scenes together. You didn't have a scene together?

[00:18:01] No, but he is... My good fortune is that he is very fond of me and whenever he meets me he is really warm and very appreciative and very supportive. That's lovely. And he also talks good behind my back. That's important to me.

[00:18:14] Many times on camera so that's... Not that you need the favor but I'm retaining you the favor sir. You are a true inspiration. He's a great person, a great mind to sort of pick.

[00:18:26] And a wonderful person to listen to. Even if you don't agree with everything that he says, he's still worthy to sort of observe him and listen to him. So I got to see him also, another actor who is Nagesh Moslem, whom I worked with.

[00:18:43] On his day he is the most exceptional actor ever. Honest day. But he can also be very inconsistent.

[00:18:51] But then, but you learn from... It was fascinating for me because I was absorbing all of these things and the fortune of working with Sunil Shanbhag also is a wonderful director. I learned a great deal working with him as well.

[00:19:05] There's a great deal of difference between theatre and acting for screen. And the most obvious is of course the immediacy of the response from the audience. Like Instagram. Theatres like Instagram. Theatres Instagram, your likes and dislikes come immediately.

[00:19:23] I think theatre people are not going to like this. I have really reduced them to Instagram likes. But Instagram is the most popular app now so they should think about that. It's for them to think about. Now I've said it, now you can troll me.

[00:19:38] What do you feel are your takeaways from theatre that you brought to the screen? Apart from the craft. Of course. How to take light? How to catch light? The technical aspect. How to hit marks which is very important in theatre because you don't have the...

[00:19:52] The spaces are a bit more flexible when it comes to shooting in front of the camera, working in front of the camera because if you get it wrong, you can do it again.

[00:20:00] On stage sometimes you have to like... I remember like sometimes those marks were so hard to hit and you're in light and then suddenly it goes black out. Eyes have not adjusted to it. You can't see shit.

[00:20:12] And then in that you have to make an exit and I've had embarrassing moments where I've run into sets and tumbled over and all of these things and the audience has cackled at my blunders.

[00:20:25] All that has happened but you learn how to do that and how to take... how to feel the light in your eyes and things like that.

[00:20:31] So again I'm going back to technical because I think a lot of people talk about the cerebral aspects of the craft and understanding of art and all those things aesthetic. But I think the technical training is most important.

[00:20:46] That's a very important point that you made. I think in a very overlooked point. Yeah, yeah. And that's the thing that is most useful when you transition from theatre.

[00:20:55] You have to... there is a difference in the way you kind of use the craft because in theatre you have to project your voice in a manner that is not realistic.

[00:21:06] Even if you're playing... even if the illusion is of you playing a realistic character, the audience in some time depending on the size of the room and the acoustics will adjust to that as the normal tone.

[00:21:17] So in stage, even a stage whisper they call it. A stage whisper is actually almost as loud as we are talking about. So you prime the audience, you condition them to this is this world, this is how people sound in this world.

[00:21:30] This is how people will behave in this world. Then if it's consistent then they buy into that reality. So in front of the camera those dynamics are different.

[00:21:40] So the application of the craft is different but the one thing that is most useful from doing a lot of work apart from actually understanding the craft is these technical aspects.

[00:21:51] It comes easy to you like, okay, so you're like, okay, three steps to my right is like this mark. If I'm here, I know I'm not covering my co-actor. You don't have to do it five times to sort of get it in your muscle memory.

[00:22:07] Any characters that have stayed with you that have been maybe difficult to get into or great fun to get into? Difficult, yeah. I think a lot of them. Initially when I was a bit inexperienced like I think when I was doing Shaitan,

[00:22:24] I think sometimes KC used to come home which wasn't really fun for my boyfriend. I can imagine. He was there because he's an asshole, so entitled which spoiled to that. So you totally got it.

[00:22:38] He was a coward actually. So yeah, I wasn't fun and then I became conscious of that and then I was like, I want to be me. I don't want to bring these things. So then I would just like, how do I put it? Switch it off. Okay.

[00:22:56] And then, because I don't want that to interfere with my psychology and I wanted to mess with my life. I know actors kind of talk about it sometimes and they even romanticize the idea of being affected by a particular role. I feel that I don't want that.

[00:23:17] I don't believe that it's that is the only way to sort of have a very deep understanding or have a layered nuanced portrayal. It is possible for you to be able to do that and also completely like switch that off and go home and be yourself.

[00:23:36] Yeah, but a lot of the method acting does get into that, you know, living the character and... I'm not really studied acting. I've written a bunch of books but then so I have a very like, you know, I don't have in-depth knowledge of the method.

[00:23:52] You're an instinctive actor. No, no, no. I understand the craft and know many things but then like, you know, I have not... Yes, I have done... There was a play that I was doing.

[00:24:01] So I use a lot of these things that are called as a method acting like I used to be in character throughout the show in backstage and really work myself up to that performance which was really working for me.

[00:24:14] The performances were very consistent, great. It wasn't fun for anybody else. Oh, okay. Because I was playing Duryodhan who was dying by the lake. He's really angry because he was cheated also and unfairly defeated.

[00:24:36] His hips are broken, he's bleeding to death and then various characters come to meet him. So I was working myself up to that anger of a dying man who is a great man but his ego got the better of him

[00:24:50] and that was his downfall, the reason for his downfall. But he's also angry and bitter at everything. So I was using and that wasn't fun for people backstage at all and I soon realized that I like these people, they're my friends. It should be fun. It's not funny.

[00:25:09] You know, yeah, the performance is great in audiences and my dad was like, oh, you did really well and all that but it's not fun and I have to do it every day when there are like continuous shows and I have to do that every day.

[00:25:20] Then I was like, this doesn't work for me. Okay. I can't do it consistently. Maybe once in a while. But the first time I did it, I was like great because the performance was great and then people, my co-actors and everybody were like, wow, what was that?

[00:25:33] So I was like, yeah, I was this but then after the fourth or fifth show, I was like, man, this is tiring. This is exhausting plus it's not fun. Like everybody else is looking at me like, you know, and it's not fun

[00:25:45] and it's a community thing also, you're supposed to have. So then I was like, I have to push this aside and find other ways of doing it which is when I started using my imagination more, sort of creating things in my imagination more. Okay.

[00:26:00] So and being able to sort of be detached from the character and sometimes on certain scenes, I will be in character. I won't break it because I feel that if I'm distracted then I lose it. So then I will isolate myself and isolation is also things very useful

[00:26:17] that way you don't get in the way of other people. You just make sure that you're in a place where nobody will distract you, talk to you so that your response or lack of response is not perceived as rude to them. So you do that.

[00:26:32] But more or less I like to be chill and work with everybody and you learn a lot also and the experience is also much more enjoyable that way. For everybody on set. Yeah.

[00:26:45] But yes, going back to the thing I just like to add that but for some people I think going method, full methods, any method or however they would want to do it may be the only way that they know.

[00:26:58] But it's just not fun for me and I recall one of the greatest actors, living actors of all time, Daniel DeLuis talk about his process. He said that it's and that's why he's retired because it's so difficult sometimes. It's exhausting for him and it's exhausting for everybody else

[00:27:18] because everything has to function according to you and that's really unfair to ask everybody on set to like, you have to prioritize my wants and needs over everything else. So that's really unfair. Okay. Now let's come to Bad Cop. You're playing Karan Arjun.

[00:27:38] It's a rip-off from, it's a take off not a rip-off story. It's not a rip-off or a take off. It's just the names. It's just the name that is videos. There are no similarities to the film characters or Shah Rukh or Salman. Okay.

[00:27:50] It's just that these two names, that's all and that has, that is part of pop culture. So that's all there is to it. So is there a Raki in the show saying may the Karan Arjun I? It has no other influence apart from the names. Okay.

[00:28:05] And the names, it's just for thrill. The name is just for like thrill. Okay. What should we name them? Let's call them Karan Arjun. Okay. Maybe like 20 years ago they would be say Ram or Shyam. Okay. So this is Karan Arjun. Yeah.

[00:28:18] If it was two women, they would say that. Sita Gita. Sita Gita. So it's just that there's no other similarities or inspiration or plot points except for one dialogue which is similar which is like Bha, Garja,

[00:28:29] which I didn't even realize while saying it that it's there in the movie. But that's not really an influence. It's a double role. It's a double role. You've done a double role before. Mardh Kodarni. I played Karate Mani and Jimmy.

[00:28:47] So what does it feel to reprise a double role? Because the challenges are very different. It's not the same. It's very different to do a double role. It's a different sensibility, it's a different sort of a double role. Okay.

[00:28:58] The world of Vasan Bala is different from the world of Aditya Rath. Okay. So as I was drawing your attention to me, my ability to understand the sensibilities of the directors, that tells you like what sort of a double role it is

[00:29:14] and what are the challenges and what you understand and what you don't. So this is more than the double role. The thing that I found interesting was that before this, I played a cop in the Rimakakti universe, which is I played a character called Devil Alse.

[00:29:31] Which is very much based in reality. He is an honest policeman and he's a real policeman. Like a lot of police people are like that. Now, police being a cop is not his personality. It's his job.

[00:29:45] His personality is whatever like when he was the show you get to know. And most people really like that performance and Devil Alase character. It was wonderfully written. In this, the cop is a personality because it's a filmy cop. Okay. There, yeah, it's still a job

[00:30:07] but then little bit of the cop is also a personality because we perceive filmy cops because we've seen you know Mr. Bachchan or Mr. Devgan all of these people like or... Dabang. All of this have played a version of the filmy cop

[00:30:24] where the being a cop is also a personality. So we perceive it that way. It's not based in reality at all. It's not a search or anything. It's not supposed to be real. And that's why it's the fun because you suspend your disbelief. So it's a...

[00:30:38] To put it in simpler terms, it's a cop from the Rohit Shetty universe. Okay. But Aditya Dada is making it. So that was the challenge as to now how would many other people have done it and some of them have done it really well

[00:30:51] but how would I do this? That was something that was... I was interested in and of course having worked with Aditya before I was familiar with his sensibility, his vision and then it was fun. It was really fun too. So it's a mass version.

[00:31:10] Gulsand Devay has mass cop. It's a mass cop. Yeah. And the other character... I hope it's fun for everybody it was enormous fun for me doing it. So it will be fun for everybody. Sure. What about the other character in the film? The non-cop. Arjun, he's a crook.

[00:31:25] He's a crook. Yeah, between brothers they are brothers but then they have some tension between them. Okay. It seems. Lovely. That's all that I'll have to say. That's all that you have to say. Just keep the focus on the cop. Yeah, the cop.

[00:31:38] Now when you're doing a role that requires you to play two different characters what are the challenges as an actor? When you're in the same film or the same project playing two different characters you have to slip into two different personas. It's a two-fold.

[00:31:57] I mean, if you're unprepared then anything can be very challenging but if you go with the pre-production process for an actor is where you're preparing. You sit with a script, you sit with the director and writers and you do rehearsals or readings with your co-actors

[00:32:11] and you do all the trials and makeup tests and all of those things like that. And the process of imagining these characters and trying out new things and discussions they're all part of the pre-production. So if the pre-production is strong somebody like me is confident that

[00:32:26] I know what I'm doing. So the scenes are not really important but I know these two characters so even if you change the scenes or dialogues I'm not affected by that. So that's a strong pre-production for me. Then there are technical challenges because you're acting with yourself

[00:32:41] which could also mean that staring at a cue card or a tennis ball or a flag or something like that or an assistant from the direction department who is just reading out the cues coldly without any affliction or it could be a stuntman in my case

[00:32:59] who are not really actors so they're really good at their job but then they have difficulty articulating lines and also trying to pretend to be me. So these are the challenges that you're able to okay with and here mostly I was dealing with stuntmen

[00:33:13] and I'm doing lines with them and they are really struggling and I can see that they are struggling and somehow I have to pretend that it doesn't affect me. So these were the challenges usually with double-dolls because technically it can be quite difficult

[00:33:28] because you have to first imagine how you're going to do either of them I have to do it first and then I have to remember how I've done that or watch the takes and say okay fine and then completely but then you're looking at somebody else's face now

[00:33:41] who's dressed like you not quite responding the way I was doing that part earlier. That distance you have to deal with. It can be a bit tricky but then again it's a process of repetition so you just have to keep doing it

[00:33:56] and then you'll give the director something that they can use to cut with. Lovely, this is also very action-roll, very thriller and so did you have to train for it or you prepared for all those stunts that you were doing

[00:34:13] or did you have a stunt double doing everything? I think I was very much nudged towards having one of those muscular physics by the makers but I said yeah, yeah, yeah then completely kind of like I think I would winked them sorry

[00:34:33] but this is the perception I feel that going against perception is also interesting I'm like here you are, you've come to me I don't have the image or perception of an actor who can do something like this or being a mass sort of thing

[00:34:48] most of the actors actually are not like that including Anurabh Kashiya with whom I'm acting you don't come from that thing but you've given this opportunity so I'm interested in how we're going to do it rather than say that oh, I should like now

[00:35:00] have a body transformation or something like that which again I'm not critical of the people who are doing it but I'm just saying that it doesn't interest me I think I was expected to so I was like okay fine, how much time do I have

[00:35:12] and how can I do this safely without getting into any sort of health issues I was like I don't have much time I don't think I can do this safely without getting into health issues so I was like what do I do it

[00:35:25] if I try to talk them out of it it might not really work so I see okay fine then you get reference photos can you do this, can you achieve this much then it will be nice and all these things slowly slowly practically what is possible

[00:35:37] but all the time I was focusing on building the character and making sure that I do my best in terms of performance and that's what I was interested in okay so that it's going to be different I mean it's a sort of a role where most male actors

[00:35:51] will probably hit the gym and take some other stuff to sort of look a certain way but I decided that I'm not going to do it because I can't but you bring that element of rootlessness out I think and that no very how do you mean rootless

[00:36:09] when I saw the promo oh like that there is that menace in you without necessarily as you say bulking up so yeah yeah yeah so it works that's how I get away with all these things that's how Mr. Bachchan also got away with beating up 20 people either sale

[00:36:31] or Rajnikan for that matter love me you see Rajnikan he's a little man and quite like tiny but then that's not his that's not the persona that you get from when you see him play his characters you're almost convinced that he can beat up all of those people

[00:36:51] that's his job yeah so I was like yeah bring him here muscles should be here what if you are an actor he's a good actor he's not particularly interested in it but he understands the craft he's not really looking to make a career

[00:37:07] out of acting so he's something that he is doing because he likes the people associated or something like that he's helping out some friends they're not able to find something like that it's not like he's totally uninterested in it but it's I mean

[00:37:21] he doesn't want to be known as an actor director he's a director he's a storyteller so I feel that if he puts in a bit more interest like if he was a proper actor then I think he would be a really good actor that's an interesting thing because

[00:37:35] he's a director and from a director to be an actor you have very few who can cross the line but no no I'm sure he's capable of also but that's the thing like he's not interested in making it a career option or something like that

[00:37:45] he's not he's just doing it because he can he understands the craft he's quite good he gets the job done he is creative so he uses all of those things like that but he's not really putting everything into it like somebody like me like this is the

[00:37:59] this is my main hustle and only hustle I don't have any side hustle so it's not like I'm directing some films on the side for him it's acting as a side hustle for me this is my main hustle so I am putting everything into this

[00:38:11] is there any role that you would like to do that you've not done yet? nothing in particular no I feel and this is a philosophical choice if I feel if I make a list then I am making boundaries so you don't like to limit yourself

[00:38:25] I want to be surprised I want to do things that I couldn't do and I'm like oh I have to figure out now how do I do this I've said yes to this now how do I do this I'm really it's fascinating me sometimes

[00:38:35] I really want to do those kind of parts that come to me and I was like I have no idea how I am going to do this but it seems like a great project let me figure this out does it frighten you sometimes

[00:38:49] when you take on a role that you feel that if I'm well prepared I'm not frightened because I'm like I'm not sure I'm not sure it hasn't cooked enough in my head what's coming up next from you? Ullaj, the theatrical release

[00:39:03] so Bad Cop is going to be on Disney plus Hotstar from the 21st of June Ullaj is coming out in the theatres next month 5th of July what should I do all about? it's a spy thriller that's all that I will say to it

[00:39:19] spy thriller so you are getting very far beyond that I will have to assassinate you I have a kid who is not yet settled please spare me I'm only joking thank you so much for your time question it was wonderful conversation

[00:39:35] and so many insights and all the very best for Ullaj and Bad Cop thank you I do have some contrarian viewpoints sometimes or my own perspective that are useful for me I don't know how useful it's for other people but I'm happy to share them

[00:39:49] thank you so much thank you for your time my pleasure completely and thanks to your husband who lives under the rock how do you have a relationship with somebody who lives under the rock? it's the best one because he emerges only periodically for food and water