At This Juncture Of Your Career, What Do You Look For In Your Assignments?
I think what matters to me when I pick a part is, of course, first the part itself, and to go forward, it’s the director and his vision. You know, the producers who are mounting the project. Very, very importantly, your co-actors, because I think that symphony, I would say, or that chemistry between actors, or that give-and-take between actors, or, you know, the energy that sinks in when you have good co-actors. I think it’s hard to find.
In Criminal Justice, You Had Some Of The Best Co-actors?
When you do find a bunch of brilliant actors, I feel like we do have in Criminal Justice; it just makes your job as an actor actually easier. Because it’s not just you, you know, in the frame, and it’s the whole frame that matters. And I’m actually an out-and-out team player when it comes to my job as an actor. I like to collaborate. I like to collaborate with my directors. I like to collaborate with every single department on set, whether it’s costume or it’s, you know, hair, makeup, or the direction department. I mean, I am that person. It was absolutely phenomenal being a part of Criminal Justice Season 4. You are right. Such a bunch of actors. So, I feel this was such a boon to have the kind of actors that we have. There was Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, there was Shweta Prasad, and there was Mita Vashisht ji. Of course, Pankaj Tripathi ji, you know, goes without saying.
Don’t You Feel Angry When A Less Talented Actor Gets The Part You Should Have Got?
To be very honest, it has happened in the past with me where I would think, and it’s just a personal parameter. A less talented actor has gotten a part, and I don’t think I want to get into that because it’s not my call. It’s not my monkey. It’s not my circus. Yes, you feel disheartened, but there could be reasons justified to me or unjustified to me, and I’m not there to gauge that. I think I’m here to give my 100% to what I am doing and what I am part of, and I know what I bring to the table, and I’m sorry for sounding immodest if I do, but I think I have enough faith in my own craft. I have enough faith in what I bring to the table, and I’m pretty secure about it. So, no, it doesn’t bother me at all. Having said that, I also think acting is not just about your job as an actor. You know, when you go on set, it’s really about creating a wholesome dish as you do in a kitchen. You know, the right ingredients, the right quality, the right measure, how long you simmer the recipe in the pot, and how long you cook for.
I Feel Leena Yadav’s Parched Is Your Best Work So Far?
Parched is one of my most special. It is my most special film, my most special work to date, because that was one hell of a journey. It liberated me as an actor from a little bit of inhibition that I had left in me, maybe. But it was the whole journey, I think, that was very liberating as a woman, as a female actor, and as, you know, somebody who wants to really learn the craft and hone the craft and get better at what I’m doing. So, that, I think, for me as a learning arc of my acting career, was a very, very, very, very important part and gave me a lot actually.
Which Are Your Other Films Which You Cherish?
Apart from that, I think I hold very close to me one of my Punjabi films called Singh Vs Kaur, and my character Shruti in Decoupled was special. It was something that I hadn’t done before. It was light, and I’d love to do parts like that actually. The serious and the dark and the heavy…sometimes you just kind of want to break the monotony in your own mind. I’m currently also doing four shows lined up starting with Criminal Justice season 4, and then there’s Rana Naidu, and then there’s, you know, Mandala Murders, and then Andhera. If you, once you, you know, watch all of them when they’re out, up, and out for you to watch, you’ll realize how diverse they are from each other. And I’ve really, really had a good time on them. But yeah, you’re right. I mean, Parched was one of those very, very moving moments in my career. And I think my learning arc as an actor really took a big leap from that.
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