Reader\'s Digest India - 09.2019

Reader’s Digest

During a students’ agitation, a few

of us were locked up for seven days.

Those were the toughest, yet most

eye-opening, days of my life. I spent

so much time with myself, mostly

reading, that I found answers to a lot

of questions. It turned out to be for

my own good. After that, my approach

towards life has never been the same.

After moving to Mumbai, how

difficult was it to pursue acting

jobs while running your home?

My wife, Mridula, who used to teach,

ran our home. I was jobless for a long

time. In fact, I had become used to

hearing ‘no’ from casting people or

directors. All I wanted was to do small

roles so that I could pay the rent.

But thankfully, TV shows happened,

and then, I was able to break into the

film industry with Run. It was Gangs of

Wasseypur and Masaan that put me on

the map. I would always look up to ac-

tors like Irrfan Khan, Om Puri and try

to create as much impact without repli-

cating them. I wanted to build a style of

my own, where I could fit into every or-

dinary and extraordinary character I’m

offered—and that’s happening now.

Your performances have set new

standards in Hindi films. How do you

create such memorable characters?

I learnt from my guru, B. V. Karanth,

that ‘with minimum create maximum’.

Be it Sultan from Wasseypur, or Aatma

Singh in Newton or the teacher in

Nil Battey Sannata, I try to understand

each of them—where they come from,

why they say or do what they say or do

and how they evolve. A gangster may

be expected to be loud and aggressive,

but when I play him with a smile

on my face, it makes him more real. It’s

about keeping the scope of growth of

the character large, yet simple.

What can we expect from you

in Sacred Games Season 2?

The Sacred Games show has a very

unpredictable storyline. You never

know when there’s a twist to a charac-

ter’s tale. That’s what I enjoy the most

about it. As an actor, when there is

greater freedom to expand the

personality of my character, I feel like

I can experiment.

What’s next?

There’s 83 , where I play the coach of

the Indian cricket team when they won

the World Cup [for the first time]. It’s

been a very inspiring experience. Then

there’s Angrezi Medium, where I’ll be

seen alongside Irrfan Khan, which has

been another dream come true. The

second season of Mirzapur should be

out soon, along with a few other

films in the pipeline.

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readersdigest.co.in 145

I WANTED TO BUILD

A STYLE WHERE

I FIT INTO EVERY

CHARACTER I’M

OFFERED.