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Relatable stories are now being worked on: Vaibhav
Actor Vaibhav Raj Gupta believes that if you are part of good content in terms of story and making, then it reflects on your role as well. “During my ten years in the industry, I realised that content was the king. Good story will work irrespective of the platform and genre. So, it will be my priority to look out for content in which the best of the stories is told and every character has a well etched part in the script. We live in a beautifully diverse country and have umpteen tales and anecdotes to be told, so why stick to those repetitive stories? Thankfully in the last couple of years relatable stories are essentially being worked on,” says the Noor, Jitters and Stories by Rabindranath Tagore actor.
Recalling his earlier days, the UPite says, “My destiny was Mumbai. I was not good at studies and somehow managed to complete intermediate and reach Mumbai for graduation in 2009 and got associated with theatre. That was my period of enlightenment (laughs) and I realised acting hi karni hai. As my grandfather was an artiste, so a lot of creativity and cinema was there around me since my childhood.”
Transition from stage to screen happened with sketches on web for Gupta, “I got this digital film Ascharyachakit, that to for a big platform and for once I thought that I had arrived but nothing much changed. It was then that I started taking more work on web. Then Life Sahi hai-2 and Strugglers came my way. I have done around seven to eight short films only to learn the process.”
Basking in the success of his OTT series, Gupta adds, “The idea of making season 2 is still very foreign in India. Now we have realised that we have to write three seasons at least before completing the first part. Earlier, it was different, like waiting for the first season to do well to come up with the second and then again restarting from scratch, hiring writers and all. Gullak series is among the very few that have managed to stay afloat, garner success and touch the milestone of season three. Season 2 of the series was a major hit and now Gullak 3 is being appreciated.”
Gupta says that when he was offered the role of Annu Bhaiyya, he knew what it would take to get into the role. “I thought to add whatever I had known and lived during my upbringing in Sitapur, UP. I got connected with my parents, old friends and relatives to revive that UP boy in me. It was a conscious decision to bring to the fore what I had lived once. There were a number of traits that I thought a regular youngster from a small town-middle class family should project. As a performer I always follow a certain process when I take up a role.”
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