‘I am fine even if I don’t get acclaim’
...But I will be happy if audience can empathize with my character in Zwigato, says Kapil Sharma
TV’s funny man and actor Kapil Sharma has taken a serious turn. Deviating from his comic image, the Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon, the actor will be seen in the lead role in Zwigato, directed by Nandita Das. “I never imagined that I would be in a Nandita directed film and even she would not have imagined that I would be in her film,” he chuckles.
Kapil says he admired her work as an actress. “I have also seen both her earlier directorial ventures, Firaaq as well as Manto. She is a funny person but is a part of such serious cinema. I thank her for taking me seriously. When she approached me, I made up my mind to work with her because she does limited, good work. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. Even my wife took me seriously only after I became a father,” he laughs.
However, Kapil did ask Nandita why he was her choice. “She told me that even if a global star like Shah Rukh Khan is ready, I can’t take him. She said my face resembled that of a common man and hence suitable for the character,” he adds.
He plays the role of a man who loses his job in the pandemic and becomes a food delivery guy to meet ends. “This is a film that everyone can relate to. There are a lot of people who take up an occupation not from their heart but because of circumstances and that is why a lot of people can relate to the film. A lot of people asked me how I got into the character. But the fact is that I have not gotten out of the character yet. I had done a lot of petty jobs before entering the entertainment industry. I used to work as a helper for a soft drink brand where I used to travel with the salesman cum driver in the 90s, but my struggle was not as big as what the character I play in the movie,” reveals the stand-up comedian.
Kapil says Nandita guided him through the process well. “My co-actress Shahana (Goswami) was also there to guide me. When I wore the delivery boy uniform and went to a small room in real locations in Bhubaneswar to shoot, I felt at ease. When I was going in a bike around the city I felt like I was going back to my hometown which I left 20 years ago. I became nostalgic,” says the television host who is doing his third film as an actor.
Kapil feels that fans who like his comedy will get to experience something new from him. “We are working hard on my television shows and that’s why we have an audience even after 10 years. I make people laugh for two hours but I have different emotions during the rest of the day. As an actor I also get to express some of those emotions in a film,” he said. Kapil says that he is fine even if he does not get critical acclaim for his performance. “I will be happy if people can empathize with the character (Manas Mahto) and feel I have done well,” he signs off.
I DONT PLAN OR STRATEGISE MY CAREER. MY FRIEND ANUKALP GOSWAMI WROTE MY FIRST FILM WHICH ABBAS AND MUSTAN DIRECTED. MY FRIEND RAJIV DHINGRA DIRECTED MY SECOND FILM FIRANGI WHICH I ALSO PRODUCED. I DIDN’T STRATEGISE ANY OF THEM
— KAPIL SHARMA