When you were offered Nawab Malik’s role in Rangoon, what made you say yes to the role?
With Vishal (Bhardwaj) sir, the thing is that you always look to be in a new space as an actor... you want a new character to be told and you want a new role to be re-discovered. As a filmmaker, he takes care of all of that and so I don’t think there will be a time when I will not do a Vishal Bhardwaj film. Nawab Malik is a great character, which I haven’t played before and the look of the character is also very different.
You have always delivered some outstanding performances with Vishal Bhardwaj. Why do you think you always had a successful venture with him specifically? Do you think he is too pally with you?
I think doing a film with Vishal means participating in a world that he has created in his film. The audience looks forward to see what he makes next. When we both work together and whatever we create together, it has an impact.
I do feel this film has three important characters but Vishal and I really work well together.
Rangoon was widely shot in Arunachal Pradesh. How was the experience shooting there?
It’s raw, it’s beautiful, it’s largely untouched, it’s away from the city and it’s both fresh and refreshing. It was very taxing of course. We were shooting in the middle of the forest but it was fascinating. It was awesome to experience the side of India, which is so different.
How do you look at your contemporaries as competitors? Do you envy them when you see them doing well? Is there any insecurity?
In fact, it’s great (to see them do so well) sometimes. I have been acting for over 15 years now. When I enter a theatre and I see a great performance by a contemporary, it motivates me to do better in my next project. At the end of the day, we all are competitors and the jealousy to do better, inspires us. If you look at it positively, it’s a great thing to be competitive.
So which was the last film, which you watched and felt really jealous?
I wanted to be Geeta or Babita from Dangal. I loved the wrestling sequences because when I saw the first fight of Geeta where she happens to fight with the boys, I could relate to her struggle. When I was in Delhi, I was one of the most popular kids in the city and then I shifted to Mumbai and I became an outsider in my class. The whole class used to fight with me and I used to fight them back on different days and in different ways, either physically, verbally or emotionally. Somehow, they were all very mean to me. When Geeta starts fighting, I was reminiscing about my childhood days and so I want to play one of those characters. I have been a fighter all my life.
Were you hurt when you didn’t get the National Award for Haider?
You feel a little pinch when that happens but you can’t keep focussing on that. I think I got a lot of love for Haider. There was a time in the industry when the process of becoming a star, was through popularity. I think today it’s about credibility and about gaining audience’s trust. It’s about making them feel that you are trying to do some good job and give them a new experience. Haider and Udta Punjab are films that have helped me in that journey. I think actors talk to audience through their films. These films have built credibility with people. So things like not getting the National Award didn’t affect me but it did pinch me.
With the digital space becoming so strong, do you feel the whole craze of stardom will fade away?
I don’t think stardom will fade away maybe because I am a star and I don’t want to believe that it will. It’s possible that it could happen but it would be sad. It’s interesting that there are stars in so many different spaces. There is a star in every field. I hope that place is always there and somebody should always be there in that spot.
Who is your biggest critic?
I have quite a few. My dad is a critic but he is very limited with his words. My wife is a great critic of mine, and so are my siblings but I think I am my own biggest critic. As far as my own work is concerned, I loved my work in Haider, Udta Punjab and now I am having great time doing Padmavati.
Are you gaining weight for Padmavati?
I’m not gaining weight as in I’m not going fat. I’m just going little muscular because I think kings of that time used to have that personality. I’m just gaining muscles. But right now, I’m chilling because I’m busy with the promotions but it’s difficult to follow those diets. Gaining muscle is very difficult.
