The fire is simmering

Photos (cover and centrespread): Sandeep Saxena

Slow and steady Vijay Raaz says he does look for reference points

If ever there is an example of an actor treated at face value that is Vijay Raaz. The immensely gifted actor gets roles, which suit his face, not his talent. But the man doesn’t mind it. “See, the industry churns out two kinds of cinema – one is the glamour one, which looks for diamonds. They charm you with their looks but can’t satisfy your hunger. The other one relies on coal, which can burn itself to satiate others. I am comfortable with both but my heart yearns for the latter. Unfortunately, when the audience have their belly full, they prefer the glitter of the former,” says Vijay, who is unusually calm and philosophical despite the fast-paced world he dwells in.

“The credit goes to Delhi and my upbringing in the quarters of the Indian Agriculture Research Institute at Pusa. The first 13 years of my life were spent running in the endless lush green fields – a part of Delhi, which had no trappings of a metropolis. My favourite pastime was looking for a new fruit on the mango, jamun or guava tree. My first friends were dogs, buffaloes and parakeets. One good thing about animals is that they don’t talk back to you. It is perhaps those crucial years that made me calm. I still love looking out of my Mumbai flat counting birds in the sky and whenever I get time I return to those fields in Pusa. They are no longer the same. Concrete buildings have cropped up in the area. Also small eyes find everything big and big eyes keep on putting limits to the world around.”

An average student, Vijay says the acting bug bit him when he was studying in DAV College. “I wanted to be a cricketer. I was quite good at it but didn’t get support from the family. My father was in Civil Defence and like most other parents wanted to see me in an office job. As time ran out to be a sportsman, I started developing interest in theatre. It was not that I wanted public attention for I was too naïve to understand such things. I just liked the creative process and an excuse to be with friends.”

After a stint with Sakshi Kala Mandir, he joined the NSD Repertory. One fine day, Naseeruddin Shah saw him perform “Agni Aur Barkha”. “Prasannaji directed it. Naseer sahib came to the greenroom and appreciated my performance. That day I realised I can earn my bread and butter by acting.” Years later Naseer recommended his name to Mira Nair for Dubey’s character in Monsoon Wedding despite knowing that somebody called Paresh Rawal is preparing to play the part. Destiny? “Of course. I hate people who say they will do this. While shooting for Monsoon Wedding, Rajat Kapoor saw his Raghu Romeo in me. When you can’t decide your birth, how can you challenge nature? You can only try.”

Did he look for a reference point to play the character? “I never do this. By looking at somebody, you can copy his clothes, his mannerisms – a lot of actors do it these days – but you can’t get to know what’s going on inside his mind. For that you have to understand yourself. All the emotions are present in us and a good actor manages to reflect on any of them as and when required. Only then you can aspire to strike a chord with every man in the crowd.”

He knows he has repeated himself and has done some crass films. “I did everything that came my way – from Navi Mumbai to New York,” he quips. “See I concentrate on my character and try to do best with it. The rest is the director’s responsibility. Also some of my best works like Raghu Romeo and Hari Om could not reach the masses. It is again a matter of destiny. Raghu Romeo was distributed by the same guys, who distributed Lakshya. When Lakshya bombed, they lost interest in Raghu Romeo. By the time they realised its potential, it was too late. Similarly Hari Om is produced by Tips, who wanted to make a film for the festival circuit but never cared to release it. And you never know what people like. I get tremendous response for my character in Run, where I didn’t put any special effort.”

Recently he won rave reviews for his performance as a watchman in Barah Anna and this Friday he plays a petty thief in Dekh Re Dekh. “When I play such characters I justify to myself that there is a thief in each one of us. For some it is latent, for others it is a profession but it doesn’t mean a dacoit is a dacoit 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, the glamorous side tends to think that way!”

( anuj@thehindu.co.in)

Monsoon Wedding: P.K. Dubey, an upwardly mobile tent and catering contractor whose pragmatism is undone by the family maid

Raghu Romeo: A naive waiter, browbeaten by his mother, kidnaps a popular television actress.

Barah Anna: A friendly watchman who is forced to rebel against the selfish society he serves.

Hari Om: An autorickshaw driver, who escapes with a French lady to avoid a crook.

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