Rushing from promotional event to another for his upcoming film 'Tere Mere Phere', actor Vinay Pathak sits down for a short but lively interview with IBNLive's Rituparna Chatterjee to talk about the great small budget film revolution, salaries of actors and his search for that one story that will make his life complete.
Vinay Pathak: So why do I do movies… I ask myself that question everyday. I don't think I can do anything with as much passion and as much fun and as much love.
Rituparna Chatterjee: It is fun, isn't it?
Vinay Pathak: When your hobby becomes your job then you are in the best place. Initially secretly, then, going to college and realising that that's what I want to do and see it come true for me.
Rituparna Chatterjee: Do 'they' even take character actors seriously?
Vinay Pathak: Honestly, I don't care.
Rituparna Chatterjee: Of course you do, you're promoting your film, aren't you?
Vinay Pathak: They who, the audience?
Rituparna Chatterjee: Well, the industry, for one.
Vinay Pathak: As long as I get to tell my story, the story is made into a film and we are able to release it, I really don't care what they think of me, what price tag they put, as long as I'm getting to tell my story the way I want to, I'm in a happy place.
Rituparna Chatterjee: This is a great place cinema is at currently, with an upsurge of small and medium budget films. Isn’t it?
Vinay Pathak: Good no, ya?
Rituparna Chatterjee: Of course! Do you feel that the time has come when everybody can make a movie?
Vinay Pathak: Let me introduce you to the jungle. Everybody is making a movie.
Rituparna Chatterjee: Does quality suffer?
Vinay Pathak: Of course, like in any industry if everybody is making the same product, you would have competition and you would have the diversity in the quality of that product. But the good thing is the product has a competition so definitely there would be a better one. Definitely there would be the medium ones and below average ones. But the volume is there.
Rituparna Chatterjee: Who is your favourite star of all time?
Vinay Pathak: I am a huge fan of Motilal, Balraj Sahni, Dileep Kumar. Bachchan saab (Amitabh Bachchan), is a great example of a discipliner and putting your passion into practice and very committed to his job.
Rituparna Chatterjee: This is never a polite question to ask, but is there a huge salary disparity in Bollywood?
Vinay Pathak: It doesn't concern me. See you have to realize that we are one fourth of the globe population wise. That means you can imagine the magnitude of the market we are strength wise, compared to all other markets. And cinema is one of our biggest indulgence you know, for you and I and everybody else. In no other culture is cinema as deeply rooted in the lives as in India.
So if it becomes a big business and if somebody has the equity of Mr Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan, it's not getting what he's not (entitled to). He deserves it.
Take the money part out, see what the popularity is of Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bachchan. So if everybody is making money, what is wrong?
Why should I look down upon that structure? If my price is this much, the sensible thing on my part would be to accept that. Agar mai santra hoon aur angoor zyaza bhao mein bikta hai toh mujhe angoor se nafrat kyu honi chahiye bhai? (If, say, I am an orange and grapes are being sold at a higher price, why should I hate grapes?)
If I do films worth four crore, I need to understand that and just can't discard films that are made for Rs 40 crore just because I'm not a part of it. If I do cinema close to reality then I need to be realistic in real life as well. Our cinema is song and dance cinema, I cant discard that.
But in last 10-15 years all kinds of cinema is happening in our industry, which is a great change. We need to learn to coexist.
Rituparna Chatterjee: Actors like you and Boman (Irani), do you feel you are slowly getting typecast?
Vinay Pathak: Who isn't? Tell me one actor who isn’t? All of us are trying to break that. That's why I do a Das Vidaniya, Bheja Fry, Johnny Gaddar, Khoya Khoya Chand, Chalo Dilli and Tere Mere Phere.
(Tere Mere Phere is actor Deepa Sahi's directorial debut which has Vinay Pathak and Riya Sen in lead roles.)
Rituparna Chatterjee: So you think you still have the scope to grow in this industry?
Vinay Pathak: You never get everything that you have dreamt for. You need to keep trying. And for me the real struggle is to find that one story that I want to tell. Always. Always.
Rituparna Chatterjee: Have you found that story?
Vinay Pathak: I have something in my kitty already. I am doing Anant Mahadevan's new film I am thrilled about. It's Gaur Hari Dastan. It is based on a freedom fighter and is a true life story. The journey of a man from 35 to 70. We haven’t started shooting yet.
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