‘I WOULD MIMIC MY PROFESSORS’

For Danish Husain, acting came as a way to enrich his life; the artist gets talking

I worked in banks for fiveandahalf years. It wasn’t something I enjoyed doing... That’s when my exploration to do something else began.

DANISH HUSAIN ACTOR AND THEATRE DIRECTOR

Ditching a corporate job to try his hand at acting is a decision that Danish Husain is proud of. The actordirector, who featured in Rajkummar Rao-starrer Newton last year, says he had nothing to do with acting till the age of 30.

“I worked in banks for five-and-a-half years. It wasn’t something I enjoyed doing. I was quite mediocre all my life; there wasn’t anything I was good at. I couldn’t sing to save my life, couldn’t play any instrument or sport. That’s when my exploration to do something else began. I realised, when I was in college (Delhi School of Economics), I’d mimic my professors, and people used to like that a lot.

I was great at freshers and farewell parties... I thought, maybe I could perform and act (smiles),” he says.

Husain started his career in theatre with director Barry John and went on to work names such as Habib Tanvir and Naseeruddin Shah.

“I had not followed theatre and did not know where to go. In 1998-99, Barry John had become famous and (his disciples) Shah Rukh Khan and Manoj Bajpayee had become great stars by then. I could just think of fame and called him.

I was lucky that each time I’d perform on stage, somebody would notice me and offer me a role,” says the artist, who recently visited Gurugram to perform Qissebaazi, a multilingual story project.

Credited with Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar for reviving the lost art form of Urdu storytelling Dastangoi, Husain says people shouldn’t confuse storytelling with a “standardised” way of someone sitting and telling a story. “It is essentially about how you spin the narrative... At some point, you realise the power of words, speech, truth and how do you bring that effectively in what you are doing, whether it’s performing on stage, writing, or a social gathering,” he says.

Looking back now, from writing, directing theatrical productions, namely Guards At The Taj, Qissa Urdu Ki Aakhiri Kitaab Ka, Qissebaazi (2016), to starring in films such as Ankhon Dekhi (2013) and Peepli Live (2013), Husain has done it all. Asked about his go-to medium as a creative person, he responds, “I enjoy all the work I do. [But] If I’m enjoying a dessert, I wouldn’t necessary be thinking about Nihari or Baigan Bharta at that time (laughs).”