Donning multiple hats in the art of filmmaking, Saurabh Shukla has been a connoisseur in the filmy world. The National award-winning star gets candid with The Pioneer, sharing his inclination towards cinema, having his hands on multiple mediums of filmmaking, and more.
Tejal Sinha
A sparkling treasure in Bollywood—Saurabh Shukla, undeniably has been the scene stealer of the industry. Born into an artistic family, with his mom being the first female tabla player of India, and dad, a vocalist from Agra Gharana, growing up in such an atmosphere, art was always held in high regard. In fact, so much that traditionally, they’d make sure to watch two films every Sunday; an English film in the morning and one latest Hindi film in the evening.
The filmy world certainly enticed him. Having always had a desire to make a film, and discussing the same with his friends, theatre came up to the rescue to be the first stepping stone in his journey. Initially, the Satya actor never had a thought of doing films, but as they say, destiny had a different plan, he fortuitously got a role in Bandit Queen. That wasn’t just it! Renowned filmmaker-actor Shekhar Kapur had encountered his talent, calling him up to Mumbai, and here’s Saurabh Shukla today, not just mastering the art, but also being an influential personality to many.
With the English films that he’d watch, there was more of an inclination towards its Western approach of writing, acting, and cinema, which he says is mostly realistic. “I used to get fascinated by looking into their films where people were so natural, actors were so natural, at times you don’t figure out whether they are acting or are real about what they are living,” enthuses the Baadshah actor in an exclusive chitter-chatter with The Pioneer, as we discuss about his realistic approach in his films. Then there’s also humour, and he explains one can find humour in the most painful situation or darkest of situations.
The Dil Pe Matt Le Yaar actor doesn’t appreciate the fact of people questioning him about donning the hats of actor, writer, and director. “I write lyrics at times. I do poetry. If I’m at a party, I can sing, all of that I can do. So the point here is, that these are not different things. Writing, acting and direction are all part of the same art. To have a holistic idea about the art, you need to venture into everything. You might be good at one, but you should know all the things, and somewhere or the other, they come in handy while doing one of them. If you’re a writer, you are writing and at the same time, you are also acting, as an actor it becomes easier for you to understand what has been written. And when you direct, you understand the medium, which also helps you as an actor and become a better actor.”
Talking of his filmmaking, he believes that when one thinks of an idea, it’s about the stories floating around you, and you always keep thinking about stories. Then there is one story that grabs your attention and then it’s asking to be written and made and that’s exactly he enunciates has happened with his recent project Dry Day. Basically, “It started with a very basic idea of a man who is directionless and is just floating, and just going with the flow. He has got no aspirations and he is a drunkard but not a bad person. He doesn’t go anywhere but accidentally encounters a point where he finds a cause that initially he doesn’t realise is the cause of his life. But then he finds his calling in that cause and then he stands up for it and that makes him the hero. That was the basic premise, and from that premise when the worldview comes into play, and of course I wanted it to be a humous film so that even the darkest truths of life like alcoholism or the pain about alcoholism. With humour, you can say big things by not preaching. That was the whole idea that it’s not that we are suddenly trying to preach to everyone. While you are laughing you can figure it out yourself.” The film, he points out, does not talk about alcohol, but alcoholism. And how the addiction can cause a person to start forgetting the rest of the life that is around you. The film completely stands against addiction.
The message that we see through the film, he says is in the script. “When the filmmaker is making the film, and telling the story, it’s like a conversation there is a point of view which every storyteller has. And so actors carry those messages and add the message to their sphere,” shares the Raid actor. Again, “the message is not about messaging but like an engaging conversation, and viewing where you see it and in your imagination as an audience, you figure out your truth in it,” enunciates the writer-director, who feels that the characters he played to him is like ‘girlfriends’, and that you always like the present one, and the rest are like the memories that you don’t live at the present.
If you feel that the industry often fails to utilise the actors’ full potential due to a lack of capable individuals, and if this would somehow bother him, then that’s not the case. The Raat Gayi Baat Gayi filmmakers enthuses, “In Jolly LLB or Raid, people talked about me as an actor in the same bracket where they talked about the protagonist or the lead actor. That’s gratifying enough. If somebody has a story, where he thinks I fit well and I happen to be the protagonist, around whom the whole movie will move around, so I’ll be absolutely happy to do it. Even if they find it or not, it’s still great.” The Bhediya actor, who was caught up with the filmmaking of Dry Day, will start shooting for the second season of Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein and also begin shooting for another series that he’ll begin in April. Oh, and another two commercial films that’ll begin its shoot in the second quarter of the year.
A sparkling treasure in Bollywood—Saurabh Shukla, undeniably has been the scene stealer of the industry. Born into an artistic family, with his mom being the first female tabla player of India, and dad, a vocalist from Agra Gharana, growing up in such an atmosphere, art was always held in high regard. In fact, so much that traditionally, they’d make sure to watch two films every Sunday; an English film in the morning and one latest Hindi film in the evening.
The filmy world certainly enticed him. Having always had a desire to make a film, and discussing the same with his friends, theatre came up to the rescue to be the first stepping stone in his journey. Initially, the Satya actor never had a thought of doing films, but as they say, destiny had a different plan, he fortuitously got a role in Bandit Queen. That wasn’t just it! Renowned filmmaker-actor Shekhar Kapur had encountered his talent, calling him up to Mumbai, and here’s Saurabh Shukla today, not just mastering the art, but also being an influential personality to many.
With the English films that he’d watch, there was more of an inclination towards its Western approach of writing, acting, and cinema, which he says is mostly realistic. “I used to get fascinated by looking into their films where people were so natural, actors were so natural, at times you don’t figure out whether they are acting or are real about what they are living,” enthuses the Baadshah actor in an exclusive chitter-chatter with The Pioneer, as we discuss about his realistic approach in his films. Then there’s also humour, and he explains one can find humour in the most painful situation or darkest of situations.
The Dil Pe Matt Le Yaar actor doesn’t appreciate the fact of people questioning him about donning the hats of actor, writer, and director. “I write lyrics at times. I do poetry. If I’m at a party, I can sing, all of that I can do. So the point here is, that these are not different things. Writing, acting and direction are all part of the same art. To have a holistic idea about the art, you need to venture into everything. You might be good at one, but you should know all the things, and somewhere or the other, they come in handy while doing one of them. If you’re a writer, you are writing and at the same time, you are also acting, as an actor it becomes easier for you to understand what has been written. And when you direct, you understand the medium, which also helps you as an actor and become a better actor.”
Talking of his filmmaking, he believes that when one thinks of an idea, it’s about the stories floating around you, and you always keep thinking about stories. Then there is one story that grabs your attention and then it’s asking to be written and made and that’s exactly he enunciates has happened with his recent project Dry Day. Basically, “It started with a very basic idea of a man who is directionless and is just floating, and just going with the flow. He has got no aspirations and he is a drunkard but not a bad person. He doesn’t go anywhere but accidentally encounters a point where he finds a cause that initially he doesn’t realise is the cause of his life. But then he finds his calling in that cause and then he stands up for it and that makes him the hero. That was the basic premise, and from that premise when the worldview comes into play, and of course I wanted it to be a humous film so that even the darkest truths of life like alcoholism or the pain about alcoholism. With humour, you can say big things by not preaching. That was the whole idea that it’s not that we are suddenly trying to preach to everyone. While you are laughing you can figure it out yourself.” The film, he points out, does not talk about alcohol, but alcoholism. And how the addiction can cause a person to start forgetting the rest of the life that is around you. The film completely stands against addiction.
The message that we see through the film, he says is in the script. “When the filmmaker is making the film, and telling the story, it’s like a conversation there is a point of view which every storyteller has. And so actors carry those messages and add the message to their sphere,” shares the Raid actor. Again, “the message is not about messaging but like an engaging conversation, and viewing where you see it and in your imagination as an audience, you figure out your truth in it,” enunciates the writer-director, who feels that the characters he played to him is like ‘girlfriends’, and that you always like the present one, and the rest are like the memories that you don’t live at the present.
If you feel that the industry often fails to utilise the actors’ full potential due to a lack of capable individuals, and if this would somehow bother him, then that’s not the case. The Raat Gayi Baat Gayi filmmakers enthuses, “In Jolly LLB or Raid, people talked about me as an actor in the same bracket where they talked about the protagonist or the lead actor. That’s gratifying enough. If somebody has a story, where he thinks I fit well and I happen to be the protagonist, around whom the whole movie will move around, so I’ll be absolutely happy to do it. Even if they find it or not, it’s still great.” The Bhediya actor, who was caught up with the filmmaking of Dry Day, will start shooting for the second season of Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein and also begin shooting for another series that he’ll begin in April. Oh, and another two commercial films that’ll begin its shoot in the second quarter of the year.
