MASTER OF THE MEDIUM

Sumeet Vyas speaks to Shillpi A Singh about working on different entertainment platforms, perfecting his craft and more...

Sumeet Vyas is the master of medium, and he does his part well enough to make the medium convey the message that he has arrived, loud and clear, to all and sundry, with every role that he dons.

On all platforms

Having started off from theatre, Vyas has perfected the nuances of the craft to become one that he chooses to play onscreen, quite seamlessly. He had a long and successful stint in the web series circuit, having dominated the digital space with roles of all hues and shades.

But what keeps him on his toes are films, be it short or feature, Indie or commercial. “I enjoy each of these as there is a lot to take away. A short becomes challenging because it is of shorter duration and playing a part here involves a lot of precision so that the audience enjoys it as much as I did. A feature-length gives a lot of screen time and a lot more to make an impact and stand out. Indie cinema helps me explore my acting range, while a commercial flick demands a lot of song and dance, but the key is to stand out and stay fresh in each of the appearances,” says the actor as he gears for the release of his second film in a fortnight.

Playing to perfection

If High Jack was about a group of firsttimer plane highjackers and the hilarious turn of events as they get high along with passengers, his recent release Veere Di Wedding is an ensemble cast with industry A-listers including Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Kareena Kapoor Khan. “I had to take a screen test before bagging the role of Rishabh Malhotra. It was exciting and at the same time fun to be a part of this project that has so many talented women. The best point was the director, Shashanka Ghosh,” he quips.

Role smart

Having played the supporting roles to perfection in all his cinematic outings including the memorable one as Pakistani cab driver Salman Khan in English Vinglish before making his presence felt in Rakhi Shandilya’s directorial venture Ribbon with Kalki Koechlin, he credits his part in big-ticket

Veere Di Wedding different from others. Calling it as a regular song and dance kind of role that was a welcome change from other mundane stuff that he had done before, he says, “It is heartening to take a light-hearted role at times. Some roles drain and exhaust you, and then there are some that keep you cheerful and easy and excited, because you are sharing screen space with a wonderful actor like Kareena. I thoroughly enjoyed playing Rishabh character because he was different from other characters that I had played so far. The much in love couple, Rishabh and Kalindi try to manage their wedding amid a lot of family expectations and that adds a lot of fanfare to the whole affair,” he says on being Kareena’s onscreen love interest.

Film wise

The film is Kareena’s first release after Udta Punjab, and the second of director Shashanka with Sonam, Khoobsurat with her being his first. Sharing his experience of working with Kareena, the actor says, “It wasn’t a big deal while I was shooting for this film as much as it is now,” adding, “It was a wonderful experience. She is a thorough professional and made it quite a simple affair to be sharing screen space with her. There were no airs, and she made me quite comfortable being on the set with her. Apart from that, there was so much revelry on the sets that shooting for this film was quite enjoyable.”

Variety adds spice

If he gets to play the single guy in Veere

Di Wedding, he was seen as a DJ in High Jack starring Mantra Mugdh, Sonnalli Seygall and Kumud Mishra. The choice of that role was again an attempt to step away from the kind of stuff that he had done before. “I wanted to explore a slightly weird topic, a quirkier role and so I had to do a little bit of preparation to perfect that part,” he says.

Vyas who made his debut as goofy Mikesh Chaudhary in Permanent Roommates and then went on to act and write TVF Tripling, is currently busy scripting the second season of the latter. “It should be out by year-end,” he says.

Indie cinema helps me explore my acting range, while a commercial flick demands a lot of song and dance, but the key is to stand out and stay fresh in each of the appearances.