He is unassuming and has found a connect with the audience through his one-liners and comic repertoire. Most directors and producers want to cast him and yet Sanjay Mishra, who has done films like Ankhon Dekhi for which he got several awards, remains an understated actor. He tells SHAlINI SAKSENA why
His second stint with Hindi cinema kickstarted with All The Best and the character Raghunandandas Govardhandas Vakawale aka RGV. It was a role Sanjay Mishra would have given up on if it had not been for Rohit Shetty who convinced him to return to Mumbai.
Mishra tells you that after his father’s death, he was so shattered that he could not return to Mumbai. He wanted to be left alone. The best place to head was Rishikesh where the actor spent many days working at a dhaba making omelettes. Interestingly, the dhaba owner never recognised him even though Mishra had by then done movies like Golmaal and was already a known face. The customers, however, would come to eat and get photographs clicked with him.
“I was working at the dhaba when I got a call from Shetty. He said that there was a role that only I could do and needed me to come back,” Mishra recounts. It was the dialogue ‘Dhondu just chill’ that made him popular and the reason why most producers and directors want to cast him in their movie today.
“When an actor reads the script, how much and how far he is able to lift the character depends on the connect he finds with the role. For Raghu, ‘Dhondu just chill’ happened impromptu and it clicked with Shetty and the audience instantly. What I did with Raghu, other directors hope I will be able to do the same in their movie as well. While, this is always not possible, I do what I can to make the character as real as possible,” Mishra explains. He says, it is not always possible for an actor to keep giving hits. Once in a while, a movie will come that people will not like.
“Take Kangana Ranaut. She is such a brilliant actor. Even she has her downs. Then there are directors like Shetty. I keep telling him that he is playing a T20 match. But the good part is that films today are all about how close one can get o portraying reality,” Mishra says. His role may be small, like in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, for example, but he ensures that his character is able to connect with the audience and endear itself.
The best part is that despite the tremendous talent, Mishra is completely unassuming. “I am a common man just like you are,” he insists. “If people see how I am at home with my family, they will realise that there is no difference in theirs and my life, it is as real as it can get,” the 51-year-old says.
It is this realism, he says, that has created space for actors like Irrfan Khan, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal and himself. To say that these actors have not achieved commercial success will be incorrect or premature to comment on. “At least a small sapling has been planted. From here on, it will only grow bigger and greener. Movies are being made keeping in mind these actors. This in itself is great for Hindi cinema. I am not even comparing myself with the likes of Irrfan who was my senior at National School of Drama. He is a class apart. I consider myself an artist; not an actor. This means that I will be good at whatever art form I make up my mind to pursue. I am sure if I made up my mind to be a cameraman I would do well there or if I wanted to be a lighting man, I would do well there as well,” Mishra says.
His love of Bollywood — a word he hates to hear — ‘I don’t know why the media insists on calling it this, it is Hindi cinema and not Bollywood. This word has ruined how we see actors today’, he asserts. He tells you that the entire concept of ‘hero’ and ‘heroine’ is archaic. “How many times have you seen a man chase a woman around a tree and sing a song in real lifeIJ Never. The whole concept of what a hero is, is wrong. Our definition centres around whether he has long hair, what kind of clothes he wears, whether he is fashion conscious, how he walks and talks. All these are materialistic things and don’t make for a hero. The media also asks the wrong questions. ‘Apka role kya hai movie meinIJ’ And the answer is ‘I play a policewallah’. But that is your profession in the film. The better question to be asked is what is your character all aboutIJ,” Mishra who has been busy shooting in Hyderabad for Dilwale, says. It is a small role where his character makes an entry and has an interaction with Shah Rukh Khan.
Mishra says that it is not as If Shah Rukh Khan is a hero in the real sense. He has also played several characters like in the movie Chak De. His character is so true to life. That is what is making films so good today. That the directors are experimenting with themes and making meaningful cinema is good for the industry. One just wished that we didn’t copy everything from the west. Just because there is Hollywood, there has to be Bollywood, is not correct. See actors like Johnny Depp, or Tom Cruise or Kate Winslet, they are all actors, character actors. We should have that too — actors and not a hero,” he says.
But it was not as if Mishra got everything on a platter. There was a time, when his father despaired for him as Mishra was not very interested in studies. His interest in the arts developed when he was very young. People would often visit his father’s home. There would be singing, sitar playing and other related activities. This interested Mishra. His grandmother who was a radio singer in Patna, also influenced him and he decided to pursue this line. He wanted to learn to play the sitar, but when he came to know that learning the art form was a life-long process, he gave up. It was when he was 16 when he heard of the National School of Drama.
“I joined the school with not much thought of where I would end up. But there were the likes of Irrfan Khan. I would spend as much time as I could with them, learning from them and listening to what they had to say. I picked up everything that I could from there. My next stop of course was Mumbai in 1991,” Mishra recounts.
Those were the days of the hero, heroine and a villain. Then there were character actor and comedian. “I found that people were unable to fit me into any category. Those were tough days. So I decided to take up any project that came my way. Tigmanshu Dhulia, my batchmate offered me a television serial. Between 1991 and 1999, I did everything I got a chance to do — lighting, camerawork and even art direction. looking back, I see that period as a learning phase of my life. Today, I don’t consider myself a professional actor. This is because I don’t spend all my time acting. I have slotted my life. I want to enjoy life — zindagi jeena chahata hoon. So, I have allocated percentages — 30 per cent to work, 30 per cent to my family, 20 per cent for myself, where I sit back and relax and the rest doing household chores like dusting and cleaning old records, books, cleaning a musical instrument that has been gathering dust for a long time,” Mishra tells you.
When this versatile actor is not shooting, he loves to stay at home and listen to music. If it is slightly cloudy them Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and raga sur malhar sets the mood for the day. What he would cook that day also plays a big role. Yes, the actor loves to cook.
“Have you ever gone vegetable shoppingIJ The sight of freshpalak or bhindi is so beautiful and inviting. I can’t stop myself from buying some and cooking it. And yes, I cook at the sets as well when I am shooting. Instead of eating a meal that will cost Rs1,000-Rs2,000, not that money is an issue now, but it is the sheer pleasure I get from cooking something for myself that gets me going and my taste buds. Also, it is better than just sitting and wasting your time gossiping with other unit members. So, I buy small gas stove, it costs around Rs300 and veggies and cook me a great meal,” Mishra says.
Not that he is a foodie. He eats small portions and not all the time. It is just that he loves to cook; it is his passion. He recalls a recent trip to london where he saw some fresh vegetables and he couldn’t stop himself from buying it and a gas stove and cooking a meal for himself. But it is not that he cooks everywhere. He tells you that Hyderabad has some great food and therefore there is no need for him to cook. And if he gets a call for a shot, he asks one of the spot boys to stir the vegetables — ‘to prevent it from getting burnt’ he says.
Why it is that he is such an understated actor and why does he take every role that comes his wayIJ “I will not call myself understated. I am just doing a job like you are or any other person who gets up in the morning and goes to his office. As for the reason why I sign on the dotted line for every film that comes my way, the answer is simple — each one of us who has a responsibility, a family to look after, bills to pay, house rent to pay —one needs money. A lot of money that comes from these films goes towards meeting these expenses. Then there are some movies I do so that I can help the less privileged. Sometimes you come across a father who is unable to meet the expenses for his daughter’s marriage. Money from a couple of movies goes towards that. But the biggest plus is that one gets to work with some great actors like Annu Kapoor and Om Puri and get paid. What can be better than getting paid and learning from the best actors in the industryIJ he asks.
He also tells you that like any other actor, he too has several films that he would have preferred not to do, now that he looks back. But this is something that each actor faces. “When I look back, there are so many movies than I wish I had not done but did because the producer was a friend or because the director was a friend of a friend. I am not alone. I was talking with Paresh Rawal and he also said the same thing. There are movies like Meeruthiya Gangsters, where I have a small role, I have not even seen the movie. There are so many movies which I wish I had not done. But it is done and one needs to move ahead,” Mishra says.
Though he doesn’t want to use the term choosy, he tells you that he will be more careful henceforth while taking up a project. “I think I have reached a stage where I can actually say no to a project. Earlier, it seemed to be rather rude to say a blunt no. I am not a big star and can’t have an ego or airs. But at 51, I need to slow down. I can’t do as many films as I used to a few years back. Now, I will see who the producer is, who is the director, who are the other actors and then decide rather than just say yes,” he says.
The fact that he has reached a stage where his two daughters — lamha and Pal aged three and five respectively can buy whatever they wish to means that Mishra is in a happy zone. “It is not as if I party or go out for expensive holidays. But if I can afford to buy my children whatever they want, makes me the happiest man today,” Mishra says.
