Open Magazine — February 14, 2018

74 12 february 2018

i

am here to

be an actor,

not a hero’

T

he idea or image of the socially conscious
actor died with the 90s. Up until then, there
was an army of actors and directors in hindi
cinema who would indulge in latent activism
through their work. Shyam Benegal’s Mandi
(1983), Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya (1983)
and Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti (1970) are part of a family of films
that tried to inculcate change within the viewer and society
at large. or we could just say these films showed the reality of

life in rural india. Time spent with Sanjay Mishra makes you

wonder if he is a missing chip from that era.

The man who grew up in cities such as Benaras, Patna, delhi

and Bhopal is a rare actor today who is trying to say something

through the characters he plays, rather than simply flaunting his

skills as a performer. When you walk into his residential building

in Versova, Mumbai, you are likely to spot him watering trees or

planting a sapling or cleaning up his front yard. Why? “Because

i would have done the exact same thing if i was back home in

cinema

Sanjay Mishra and the raw intimacy

of being rooted

By Divya Unny