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Neeraj KabiWeb Star
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An Actor Prepares… The brilliant Neeraj Kabi talks to Sumita Chakraborty about his journey as an actor, his struggle, portraying a multi-layered character in Pataal Lok, how Ship Of Theseus changed his destiny as an actor and more… In these days when nepotism has become the buzzword, we decided to spotlight some of the most brilliant talents in our film industry. Neeraj Kabi is one of them. Whether as the troubled father in Talvar, a suave journalist in Pataal Lok, a crooked cop in Sacred Games or so many of his other characters, Neeraj has aced it to perfection. Read on as he fascinatingly talks about his journey as an actor, his struggle, pain and more… T
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Neeraj, you are indeed an amazing actor, why is it that we haven’t heard or seen more of you?
…And I thought I have been heard and seen enough by now. But if you feel that way, it could be that I choose my work carefully so that I am able to continue working in the industry as an actor for many, many years to come. But I am happy that I have been able to create a panoramic performance range as an actor up until now with an Indian and an international audience continuously wanting to see more of such performances. It’s a blessing. Of course, there’s a whole reservoir of performances that I am waiting to tap - provided they are written, directed and produced by more and more people who have the belief and courage to invest in actors and not only entertainers - both of which need to coexist. There’s an audience slowly building up over the last few years to watch and appreciate actors’ performances and content driven films, than mere entertaining movies. This is growing and I am certain you will see more of my work coming up.
How has your journey been?
Very long and arduous..! I dreamt of being an actor in 1991 right out of college. I did try applying at the NSD and the FTII for a formal training but never made it. I got my first film in 1997 called Shesha Drishti (The Last Vision) directed by A.K. Bir and produced by the NFDC. Then nothing happened. A long hiatus for another 14 long years till Ship of Theseus was created in 2011. And then began the slow and steady journey of my life as an actor. All along this journey from 1991 onwards as I was auditioning for roles, I was continuously trying to find ways of learning my craft and making a living by exploring all kinds of odd jobs hopping from one to the other for sustaining myself and later my family. I won’t be revealing more than this about my personal journey because I hold these long years of hope, pain and struggle very close to my heart and soul. These experiences are what I draw from and add to my craft and technique as an actor. Theatre became a strong foundation for me in those years where I learnt the way of the actor. There was a time I gave up on auditioning. I found it taking my dignity away. I began focussing on creating my own grammar of acting. I learnt many things,
read a lot and watched world cinema with whatever means and wherever I could. By now I was certain that I wanted to be a well-trained actor in Theatre and Films than be a mere Entertainer or a Star. This was clear and this clarity helped me balance myself emotionally and gave me courage to carry on. When so many years had passed, a considerable amount of anger and ego had built up inside me. Now that nothing had come my way, not even a small role, I decided that I will wait till a role befits my hard work over the years of learning, creating and sustaining a livelihood. And waiting for me meant more focus, more patience, more courage and more work on myself as an actor in the making and more self-dignity. Post Ship of Theseus, I did in 10 years what I could not have done in those 25 years. I came at the right time into the industry - at the age of 42 with fire in my belly. 58
You hear these stories of outsiders not being welcome in Bollywood, you’re from a small town, how difficult was it to make your mark?
Yes, I am from a small town called Jamshedpur and I take immense pride in that. That small town upbringing has kept me rooted to the ground and simple at heart. It has also taught me to value the smallest of things and the respect for people. I would begin to answer the question by calling it the Indian or Hindi Film Industry and not the conventional Bollywood. Our Film Industry has welcomed everybody with open arms. If you have the skill, the craft, the determination, the willingness to work very hard, then there will be opportunities to showcase your talent and be part of the business of films. Of course, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes with all the above qualifications, you still don’t make it for a very very long time. Having said this, I would also state that when the stakes are high for a particular film, it has been seen that preferences are mostly given to performers belonging to film families or from the film fraternity. These are the decisions of the producers and based on market values, for after all film making is a business like any other. It is their call. These again are specifically related to big budget Hindi commercial films made purely for entertainment.
As far as acting, talent is concerned or films involving pure Actors are concerned then the field is completely open to “outsiders”. But yes, it was very difficult for me for a long time to make it in this industry as I came in at a time where Commercial Enter59
tainment Films ruled high and there was little or no room for “actors”. It had a lot to do with the way you looked and carried yourself and I had neither (laugh). I understood very early the limited field I had to impress upon. That is where my belief in my craft and techniques helped me to carry on relentlessly until I finally made it. Which is why I do not believe in comparisons, competitions and complaints because that will emotionally and psychologically drain anybody out. It has to be just you and your levels of excellence. Despite being someone who didn’t belong to a film family, I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work with the likes of Shyam Benegal, Goutam Ghosh, Meghna Gulza, Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and to have performed with the legendary Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan Khan, Nawazzuddin Siddiqui and more.
What is your take on nepotism?
Nepotism takes away the very spirit of work. It discourages hope and loses out on many great talents leaving the industry with a stagnating quality of work year after year. If we need to excel in our quality of films and in every department of film - making, then nepotism stands as a stumbling block. It is evident from the multiple web series projects that nepotism has very little space here. Which is why for the very first time we are unveiling the enormous mountain of hidden talents in our country. They are coming out one by one with every web series. They are writers, actors, directors and talents from all the other departments of Film Making.
Pataal Lok was very interesting... What made you pick it?
Pataal Lok is the story of human triumph. The triumph of an ordinary police inspector called Hathiram, the protagonist. It essays the backstories of “criminals” giving a different perspective to the class divides in India, namely the Upper class, Middle class and the Lower class. The character offered to me was of Sanjeev Mehra, a prime-time journalist and a media tycoon. He was described as suave and charming belonging to the swarg Lok (Upper class) who appears as an attractive persona in the beginning but transforms into “disgust” for the audience as the series progresses. I had to play a multi-layered human
psyche which was complex to understand. His professional career rises from an all-time low but his personal integrity is bargained in the process, thereby making him a loner although he keeps basking in the limelight with every news he exhibits to his viewers. I found the plot, the team of actors, the chief writer, the directors and the technical crew impressive. Also, my managers and I were waiting to do a big show with Amazon in a big role after having worked on Sacred Games with Netflix. It all came together very well and so I agreed to do this.
Which is your favourite character that you played?
All the characters that I have played up until now are very close to me. Because I give each of my portrayals the same amount of vigour and intensity of preparation as an actor. But if I were to really mention just one then it would be the character of Maitreya that I played in Ship of Theseus. It is special to me because it took away so much of me physically, emotionally and psychologically while I was doing the film. I remember giving this 61
film all I had. I had put all my hopes and efforts into a film which didn’t even have a proper producer nor the funds to create it. Fortunately, as the shoot progressed the film got a producer and financier on board. And then of course, there was no looking back. Ship of Theseus became an icon of Indian cinema, creating waves in the International market, winning awards at every single film festival and being called a rare gem from India. It changed the way the world looked at Indian cinema. What it did to my career I can never thank it enough. It catapulted me to the skies as an actor…..(smile). A performance that I take pride in!
How different do you think are web-series as a platform from films?
Web-series are longer in time period, allowing the viewer a much larger story than what films would offer. For us actors, it gives a longer space to create our character graphs and add much more nuances and complexities to our characters. For the film maker, a web-series gives ample time and space to tell the story and build it to its mammoth size. As a platform, web-series have more liberty
to explore various subjects and experiment. They have a wider and quicker reach to their audience as compared to films.
Any experiences or anecdotes you can share with us while shooting on location, with Anushka Sharma, the producer and the cast?
Anushka, I never met on set or otherwise. What I quite enjoyed while working on this series was the importance given to preparations before the shoot. The sittings we actors would have with the director and writer on the script unveiled so many complexities and ways to interpret our characters. We also did acting workshops which I felt was refreshing and a time to learn and explore more about the character relationships. I quite enjoyed that. And there was this little Bengal club that we had secretly formed with Prosit, Swastika and myself where at the drop of a hat we would break into Bangla leaving everybody else gaping at us…..(laugh).
What’s next on the pipeline?
Next on the pipeline is a mainstream Hindi Feature film and a Hollywood web series being produced by a huge production house.
You are an acting coach too… how did you become one?
Yes, I am an Acting coach and have been one for many years now. I conduct 12 day workshops on acting that specifically teaches the grammar that I have personally invented for myself over the years. Nothing of it is a copy or imitation of any Western method nor any
European methodology of acting. This came about when I was conducting various kinds of workshops for children many years ago to make a living while auditioning for roles. These workshops were invented by long hours of experimentation. Much later, this extended itself to my acting workshops for adults that I now conduct for actors, models, aspiring actors, etc. Teaching became an important exercise for me to validate what I was exploring as an actor on stage and in films. And when you are a practising actor who teaches his craft, it’s overwhelming to know how many people are waiting to learn from you. It is very important to train as an actor every single day of your life to take your performances to higher levels of excellence.
What do you prefer best – theatre, films or the digital platform.?
All three. Each of these have their unique qualities.
Lastly, how do you balance your personal and professional life?
By consciously ensuring that despite the long hours of shoot and odd hours of shoot, I am always there for my family.
