“I will not resort to nudity just for the sake of nudity”

AMOL PARASHAR

In this telephonic interview AMOL PARASHAR tells JYOTHI VENKATESH of bollyy.com and Mayapuri that today a lot of feature films are being made as experimental films but in general they tend to play safe whereas the element of risk taking is there more in the realm of web series.

How did you begin your tryst with acting?

It was with the series titled Tripling that I had made my bow as an actor in web series after having acted in a lot of commercial ads. It was produced by TVF, which had earlier also produced Permanent Room Mates in which Shashank Vyas had played the leading role. It was their third show

Who were your co-actors in Tripling?

Tripling was about three brothers and a sister who embark on a road journey trip. I played the role of Chitvan Sharma in it. Among my co-actors in the series was Sumeet Vyas.

Were you slated to play the role of Rishi Kapoor in a play to be directed by former journalist Khalid Mohamed?

Yes. I was slated to play the role of the young chubby late actor Rishi Kapoor of the post-Bobby days in a play which was to be directed by Khalid Mohamed. The play which was to be supervised by Rishi Kapoor himself, revolved around a love affair of Rishi Kapoor with a Parsi girl called Yasmin Mehta before he married Neetu Singh. What is interesting to note about the plot is that it was Neetu Singh who was the go between both Rishi and Yasmin Mehta whenever Rishi Kapoor wanted to send to her love letters.

How did you manage to get into the part of the young Rishi Kapoor?

Khalid Mohamed helped me with the right hair style and costumes to get into the young Rishi Kapoor mould for his play

You have also acted in a web series called Parchaiyaan for Zee5!

Yes. I had acted in an episode of Ruskin Bond’s Parchaaiyan which was beamed on Zee 5. The episode was directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay and my co-actors in that were Aditi Gowatrikar, Puneet Issar and Rachael White.

Which are the films in which you are acting as of now?

I have completed acting in producer Ekta Kapoor’s latest film Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitarey, in which my co-actors are Konkana Sen Sharma and Bhumi Pedenekar. The film was directed by Alankrita Sahay who had earlier directed Lipstick Under My Burkha for producer Ekta Kapoor

You have also been part of films earlier!

My first film was Traffic directed by Rajesh Pillai which was released way back in 2011. I acted in that film with the likes of Manoj Bajpayee and Kolkata super star Parambrata. Traffic was a remake of the Malayalam hit with the same title and was a road film with an ensemble star cast. I played the role which was played by Asif Ali in the Malayalam original version of Traffic. I had also acted in a film called Famous with Karanveer Bohra, besides writing the dialogues for a film called Jackpot directed by Kaizad Gustad.

You were also a part of the Malayalam film titled Mili directed by Rajesh Pillai. Isn’t it?

Yes. After Rajesh and I became very friendly after I had acted in the film Traffic, Rajesh offered to cast me in his Malayalam film Mili in which Amala Paul played the role of the leading lady. I play the guy on whom Amala had a massive crush in the film. Rajesh cast me in his Malayalam film because there was a big delay in the release of the Hindi remake of Traffic and I was getting restless because of that.

You have also acted in a film called Shock Laga. Tell me more about the film?
For the first time in my career, I played the lead in a Hindi film which has not been titled as yet but tentatively called Shock Laga. It is produced by Mukesh Bhatt. Along with me, in the film directed by Rishab Sheth, actors like Smriti Kalra, Swanand Kirkire and Gulshan Grover play vital roles

Are you acting in any web series as of now?

Right now, I do not have any web series on the floors as an actor. I do not wish to act in any and every web series which is offered to me because I feel that quality is very vital when I say yes to act in a web series. The last web series in which I had acted in was Ekta Kapoor’s series called Home.  

Have you said no to several web series for reasons of vulgarity?

Yes. The Ulloo App had approached me with a couple of their web series  but I had flatly refused to be part of hem because I do not want to taint my image by being part of vulgar web series

Does that mean that you are scared to appear in the nude for a web series as is rampant today?

No. Not at all. I will not resort to nudity just for the sake of nudity, just because every other actor is doing a nude scene today. If tomorrow a filmmaker like say Alankrita Sahay or for that matter Anurag Kashyap approaches me with a web series of theirs, I’d readily agree to be part of the series because I trust their sensibility.

Which are the filmmakers who are in your wish list as an actor?

Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar, Surjit Sarkar and Alankrita Sahay. Though I have already acted din a film by Alankrita Sahay, I would not mind being part of yet another film. As far as Zoya Akhtar is concerned, sadly I was considered for a film to have been directed by her but then offer did not materialize ultimately.

You have acted in a web series. You have also acted in feature films. In what way do you think a web series is different from a feature film?

It is only the aspect of writing that makes a web series different from a feature film. Today a lot of feature films are being made as experimental films but in general they tend to play safe whereas the element of risk taking is there more in the realm of web series. Because I feel that you can even end up making even three different experimental films as against a web series with a budget like that of Sacred Games.