IN PASSING
Caught In The Act!
ActorVinay Pathak talks to Karuna Amarnath about his plays, films and his recent visit to Chennai in this zippy Q&A
Have you been to Chennai before?
The play was designed so that we could all work together and that helped. When you have a group of friends who like to hangout, it becomes all-the-more exciting to be on stage together. Each of us have our own distinct personalities, characters and inputs, whether it’s Ranvir (Shorey) or Konkana (Sen Sharma) or any of the other actors, and that’s what enriched the play and added that element of excitement for me.
I’ve usually come to the city to shoot ads, to get on stage or when I’m on my way to Pondy! So yeah, it’s usually been on work…
Now that we’ve done a couple of shows, this play is a good meeting point for us because otherwise we are busy doing our own things.
And, what’s your take on the city?
How did Vinay Pathak become an actor?
You’ve just performed two shows of the play Blue Mug in the city. What was the experience like? We had a wonderful time here, plus we had full houses on both nights. Everyone who watched the play appreciated it and so did the media so it was all good! I’ve always maintained that Chennai has an evolved theatre audience (smiles).
It’s very chilled-out and the people are very nice! I like the laid-back attitude unlike in Bombay (Mumbai), where everything seems to be running past you! Though it’s one of the metros, it has its own distinct character like say a Calcutta (Kolkata) does. The theatre groups here are quite alive and kicking and they are doing some very fascinating and exciting work. What has the Blue Mug experience been like for you? Blue Mug has been the most gratifying and satisfying experience for me. I can’t say I had any specific input because the play was written by all of us and we’re playing ourselves. But, just improvising and evolving the production with each of the actors was wonderful; we were there for each other, to guide, help, suggest and give another picture/perspective…
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Well, I was studying to be a business major, actually! I gave that up and studied drama for four years and did community theatre for three years abroad. Then I moved to India to pursue theatre further. Theatre is my first love and that’s what’s led to films, television and ads, so I hold theatre responsible for that (laughs)—in a good way! You acted in quite a few films after you came back, but it wasn’t until Khosla Ka Ghosla and then Bheja Fry, which also won you the Filmfare Best Comedian Award, that you got recognised as a film actor. But, do you feel that your role in both these films has typecast you? What happened with Bheja Fry is a good thing. You see, an actor is always looking
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for something to make the audience recognise him and to be acknowledged by other people in the industry. A good role gives the actor more chances and opportunities on a wider platform.Yes, it comes with its packages like being typecaste and other things, but I don’t see that as a casualty or a drawback… I just have to work around it. You say theatre is your first love. So, is that more exciting than films? I feel both play and films have been most enriching. I’ve always been a theatre person and love interacting with a live audience, so when I got into films, it was a completely different experience. I realised that it’s not just a different talent that’s required to be an actor onscreen, but sometimes it can also be a bigger challenge. In theatre you have rehearsals, you get time to think about your character and improvise it till you get a hang of it. But, with film, it’s either now or never. You just get that one shot and the rest is left to the editing desk! If you had to choose your best filming experience, which one would that be? I’ve always managed to do different kinds of films, experimenting with characters, roles, etc. But, I feel Bheja Fry and Dasvidaniya, though very different, have been two of my best. Bheja Fry because of the character I played and the fact that it changed my acting career and Das… because I also produced it. It was a completely different experience and