Talktime Manav Kaul
After playing a loving and supportive husband in Tumhari Sulu, which is having its World TV premiere today on Sony MAX at 12 pm, Kaul will now be seen in and Music Teacher. He talks to Sangeeta Yadav about breaking the image of being a negative character actor and his journey thus far
Tell us about your upcoming movie Music Teacher
I will be playing a music teacher for which I had to undergo a month-long training. It’s a beautiful love story directed by Sarthak Dasgupta. There is a scene in the film where I am playing the harmonium and I tried a lot to sing in it but I couldn't. I realised that I am good as a bathroom singer. Singing is something that I would not be able to achieve in this lifetime.
Your character Ashok in Tumhari Sulu was different from the kind of roles you have done so far…
For the first time, I played a positive character otherwise people would recognise me by the negative roles that I’ve played so far be it in Jai Gangaajal or Kai Po Che. People did categorised me as a negative character actor because of which I got similar kind of roles that I didn't take up. It is not that I don't want to do negative characters but I want to do diverse roles. And Tuhmari Sulu gave me that opportunity. Though I always believed in myself that I can do justice to Ashok, the challenge was how the person taking my audition spots that potential in me. For me, Ashok was the toughest yet fun role to do as I got the opportunity to break my image of a negative character and to portray as a supportive husband who had his own complexities. He is a fun loving person, dancing in Ban Jaa Meri Rani song, going crazy, creating humour and sort of a good husband.
Do you think that people like Ashok exists in today’s timeIJ
Yes, Of course! There are many Ashoks in today's time and we want more husbands like Ashok who would support their wife in pursuing their aspirations. Tumhari Sulu is the story of every middle-class family and of every housewife who wish to pursue her calling and make an identity for herself. It is a beautiful script and I believe scripts are the real heroes not we actors though we get popular by portraying it.
How did you face the rejection for roles you had auditioned for earlierIJ
It is heartbreaking when you get rejected for the role which you find perfect for yourself. But you have to have faith in your performance that you can pull off any role and have patience. Being an actor in the industry takes a toll on you. You have to be positive, work hard, go to the gym and sweat it out and you feel fresh.
Do you think theatre has got money now after so many actors going back to the stage or it is just the sameIJ
Theatre in India was always like that and it still has less money. That is why many actors quit the stage in order to make their ends meet. I used to do experimental theatre which has no money but this performing arts allows you to explore your potential and I realised that I have so many emotions inside me and I am so vulnerable. I have always been passion driven and not money driven. Though money has come to my way now, I feel nothing much has changed in life except that it has become little comfortable. I feel I am married to acting at the age of 41.
During the initial days, you also worked as a junior artist..
When I came to Mumbai, I needed money to survive so I started working as a junior artist. It was a very tough time then. I did three films and earned quick money. I used to be somewhere in the crowd of the scene. Now when I look back, I feel that it was a lot of fun but during those days, it was very tough and painful. Even now I have a long way to go. I don't think I have understood this word celebrity and Bollywood world.
What is that one fact about you that people don’t knowIJ
I am very mischievous and love to make jokes of everything. People take me very seriously as they think that I am a play writer, director and actor and have done negative roles. I love all the 3D animation movies and always watch them on first day first show in theatre.
If not an actor, what else would you have been in lifeIJ
I would have been a chaiwala because I love making tea and I am very good at it. My dream is to open a chai shop with a library somewhere in the mountains where I would spend my old age.
What is there in the pipelineIJ
I'm busy reading scripts and watching a lot of web series. There have been some amazing shows out there. When I watch others performing, I carefully observe them and imagine how I could have played that role. That is one of my ways to study the craft.