'I have gone through a midlife crisis'

'A friend of mine was going through a midlife crisis with me, so we sat down and talked it out.'

'He said, you know, we are going through a midlife crisis. I asked him for how long it would last. He didn’t know, so we tried to Google it but nobody had an answer.'

Saurabh Shukla, incurably witty, fields questions in his signature style.

Saurabh Shukla admits quite readily that he went through a midlife crisis at one point in his life, and it lasted six months. The experience inspired him to write and stage a play called Two To Tango, Three To Jive.

Produced by Ashvin Gidwani, it will be performed in a theatre in Bandra, suburban Mumbai, this weekend.

Shukla gives us an insight into the play, and his midlife crisis, in this interview with Rediff contributor Rajul Hegde. He also talks about the movies that made him popular, like Satya, Jolly LLB and most recently, PK.

What is the play about? 

The play is about one man’s quest for an extramarital life. 

Parminder Sethi, a well-settled hotelier in his mid-40s, with a wife and children, realises that he is missing out on life. Largely in men it happens with middle age; either they tend to bend towards drinking, smoking, or become religious. 

Parminder decides to indulge in an extra-marital affair. He thinks it’s going to be simple, but it turns out to be a complex affair. It’s funny but dark at the same time. 

Who are the three women who enter his life? 

The first woman is called Shomali Singh, played by Achint Kaur. She is an urban, upright woman who looks for sexual encounters to bring some excitement in life. 

She is the most honest character in the play because she feels there is no place for romantic conversations and pretentiously stirring evenings. She is not ashamed of what she is doing. 

The second character, Rinki, is played by Sadiya Siddique. Rinki is an aspiring actress, who is ready to do anything. Rinki changes moods and stories, name drops. We don’t know how much truth she is telling. 

The third character is Savitha Wasan, played by Preiti Mamgain, who is Parminder’s close friend’s wife. She is depressed and has lost faith in society. She makes him believe that the world is not a place to live in and he is completely shattered. She represents a section of women, who don’t speak out. 

Have you gone through a midlife crisis?  

Yes, I have gone through a midlife crisis, but not this way. I was not that lucky (grins). 

In a midlife crisis, men start questioning their existence and try to find a meaning in whatever they have done to date, which is a very strange thing. Actually, you start feeling that you went the wrong way and you take no pride in anything you have done. 

I have gone through it. Luckily, a friend of mine was going through it too, so we sat down and talked it out. 

He said, you know, we are going through a midlife crisis. I asked him for how long it would last. He didn’t know, so we tried to Google it but nobody had an answer. 

It just ended one day, after almost six months for me and a year-and-a-half for my friend. 

I had quit smoking for eight years, but when the midlife crisis hit me, I went back to smoking because I realised having an affair is way more dangerous than smoking (smiles). 

Immediately after that, I started writing the play. I think it’s important to talk about it in a society where people do not discuss it. 

You made a strong impression in PK. How was your experience? 

I am quite lucky and blessed because I have done enough work that I am proud of. 

It starts from my very first film, Bandit Queen, to Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Satya, Rajat Kapoor’sfilms, Slumdog Millionaire, Hey! Ram, Barfi and Jolly LLB.  

In PK, I had the same experience I had in all those films. I like films where the actors and the creative team come together to build an idea. 

PK was amazing because we had the biggest stars, great actors and directors, who were always on the set. We would hardly go to the make-up vans. 

Even if Aamir Khan didn’t have a scene, he would be on the sets, looking at his co-actor’s scenes and performances. He would give suggestions and so did I. That’s how we become friends and build trust. 

After so many years in the industry, do rave reviews still matter to you? 

No. I firmly believe that any award, or any criticism, good or bad, is not a reflection of the work but the reflection of the person who reviews it.   

Actually, it’s your understanding of an art. Yes, you feel happy when people connect, but the point is that you cannot start cooking by thinking that people will be clapping at the table. You start cooking with the aroma and you follow that aroma and then people clap.   

So it’s not that I am not following the box office. I am following the aroma which is making me cook this dish. The box office happens at the end and obviously you love it.  

Which is the best film you have done? 

For an artist his/her last work is the best one because everything else goes in a box. Be it Kallu Mama (in Satya), Barfi, Jolly LLB, I am done with them. 

Yes, I am proud of them, but whatever I am working on right now is my favourite role. There were many roles that were satisfying but were not very successful. 

For the audience, I would say my most satisfying role to date -- which was also a success -- was the role of Judge Tripati in Jolly LLB. 

While doing it, I felt that I had reached some kind of maturity in portraying the character. 

You have acted in such good films. Why do you think you haven’t been so lucky as a director? 

It’s just a matter of time. Nobody knows when and what clicks. 

For instance, some people have not been lucky with their first film, like Shoojit Sircar. His first film was about Kashmir (Yahaan). It was a beautiful film, which went unnoticed. He came into the limelight after Vicky Donor. He didn’t have a big star cast but absolute newcomers. 

I’ve tried my hand at direction; the films have been appreciated but have not done great at the box office. There is something missing and what I realise is missing is the business part of it. 

Fortunately or unfortunately, I have no brains for business, so I will wait for someone who can handle these things. 

At the moment, there are different scripts floating around but I have decided to make good and small budget films that I can be proud of but that fit into the system what we have created. 

So I am in no hurry, though I am ready with four scripts. I never stop writing, even when I am acting in films. 

What other films are you working on? 

Anurag Basu’s Jagga Jasoos, in which I play a RAW agent. 

Fraud Saiyyan with Arshad Warsi has a very different premise. 

In Sudhir Mishra’s Aur Devdas, I play the antagonist. 

Then there’s Nila Madhav Panda’s Kaun Kitne Paani, the story of a king in modern times who is really poor and his people are wealthier than he is. 

We will start shooting for Jolly LLB’s sequel by the end of the year.  

You are starring in Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyu Aata Hai 2 also. Do you feel pressure when working on a remake/ sequel of a popular film? 

It’s another special film which is completely off-beat. 

It is actually a sequel to Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyu Aata Hai. The characters and situation are not the same but it’s in the same family. 

There is no pressure with Albert because it was an art house film at that point of time and it didn’t have such an image like a commercial film. 

Luckily, the person who made the first film, Saeed Akhtar Mirza, mentored this film, so we had a great time with him.  

Do you have any plans of writing for television? 

Two years ago, I wrote a script for a television show called 2612 and I had a horrible experience. 

Television in India is quite random. There is no system and they don’t know what they are doing, but they have good intentions. 

Art is not created on day-to-day basis, it’s not like current affairs, you are not reporting. It is something which you build in your head. 

The normal practice in TV is to go according to the TRPs. The next week they ask you to make changes. 

It can happen in a newspaper when something must be changed if there is bigger news, but in fiction you cannot do that. I don’t understand TRPs. 

Do you watch television? 

Yes. I only watch Discovery and National Geographic channels. I rarely watch news because its gets worse due to the background music. 

The two things that I hate are soaps and mindless FM, which I have to keep listening to when I am driving. They speak so fast and so much that they don’t even know what they are saying. It’s neither grammatically nor ideologically correct. That puts me off completely. 

That is the way we are leading our lives I guess -- too much of chaos. 

Since you said you like to dance, would you do a reality show if offered one? 

No. I can dance as I have rhythm in my body. But I don’t like the format of reality shows; it invades my personal space.