'Thanks to Chhaava's success, I now have the creative freedom to pick and choose.'
"Now that success has finally come my way, it has broken every ceiling and the fruit tastes really sweet," Vineet Kumar Singh tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya in the concluding segment of the interview.
You are a licensed doctor. Have you ever practiced medicine?
No, there was never time to start my practice.
Even when I was in medical college, I would run away to assist on a film (Vineet worked as an associate/assistant director with Mahesh Manjrekar on films like Viruddh and Deh).
I maintained an attendance register similar to the one in college and as soon as I had minimum attendance, I would disappear.
I find it strange when people say you should not plan your life.
Arrey, everything around you is planned.
Right now, I'm driving to town (south Mumbai) and this coastal road, these buildings around me, the city of dreams itself have all been meticulously planned from scratch, hai na?
As a child, I would wake up at 5.15 am and within an hour, would do my revisions. I scored 70-80 per cent in school.
If the plan was to get into medical school, why didn't you pursue medicine as a career?
The plan was always to become an actor.
Acting was what I wanted to do and I was studying medicine only for papa.
I had promised him that I would not leave my studies and to date, I have never started something and left it incomplete.
You should always have a plan, set a timetable, and follow it with discipline.
You have worked with Mahesh Manjrekar, Anurag Kashyap, Laxman Utekar and Reema Kagti. Yet success and adulation has taken a long time coming. Weren't you ever disillusioned?
No, woh kehte hain na, der aaye durust aaye (as they say, better late than never).
(Laughs) Also, as I can see now, sabr ka phal meetha hota hai.
Now that success has finally come my way, it has broken every ceiling and the fruit tastes really sweet.
I'm shuttling between the promotions of Chhaava and Superboys of Malegaon and I couldn't be happier.
My films may not have been hugely successful commercially but there is no denying that Ugly and Bombay Talkies were wonderful films and I got them when I was just a struggling actor.
How can I not be grateful for that!
Then there was that knockout punch, Mukkabaaz.
Yes, in the wake of Chhaava's success, I'm going to request the producers to re-release that film.
Today, re-releases are doing well and Mukkabaaz should reach more people.
Tell us about Superboys Of Malegaon.
It was an amazing experience reuniting with the director, Reema Kagti, with whom I had done the sports drama Gold earlier.
The film is a celebration of cinema.
In the midst of poverty, hardships and a crisis, when people in a small town of Maharashtra are fighting over small things every day, some residents -- driven by pure passion, intent and a strong community feeling -- dare to dream big, creating a booming film industry in Malegaon.
It is a film that gives you the strength to hope and dream. And it showcases a different kind of friendship.
Tell us about your character.
Farooq Jafri was the screenwriter of films like Malegaon Ke Sholay and Malegaon Ka Superhero. He passed away in 2020.
He was an amazing guy who blossoms into a beautiful character on screen because he doesn't mince words and is so adamant.
A dialogue of his -- 'writer baap hota hai' -- has become very popular.
Would you believe, it grew out of improvisation.
While performing a scene that was beautifully written, the words just slipped from my lips.
Surprisingly, the line has caught on in a big way.
I thought it was apt because my character is a writer himself, fighting for his creativity, but now, people too are calling to say that they give expression to a writer's long-suppressed angst and passion.
What else is on the cards?
Well, there is a show with Kabir Khan for Amazon Prime Video. I'm playing the main lead.
There's also Jaat, a punch 'em action film with Sunny Deol and Randeep Hooda.
Yes, it is produced by Mythri Movie Makers, the producers of Allu Arjun's blockbuster franchise Pushpa.
I was in Hyderabad last week, shooting through the nights for Jaat.
Since they have announced the film's release date, April 10, we have to hurry to make the deadline.
I did not sleep for 55 hours, but I'm not complaining. This is what I signed up for.
There is also a film with Anurag Kashyap?
Yes, it's too early to talk about it in detail but working with Anurag is always amazing because he never wants you to repeat a character, no matter how well received it is.
It's hard to believe that the actor who plays Danish Khan, Sardar's eldest son, in Gangs of Wasseypur, is the same guy who was cast as Vijay in Murabba, Anurag's directorial in the Bombay Talkies anthology.
Vijay, the naïve, small-town boy who goes to Mumbai with a jar of homemade murabba (mango preserve) and his father's dream of longevity to seek an audience with superstar Amitabh Bachchan, is again the polar opposite of Chaitanya Mishra in Ugly, who you absolutely cannot trust because woh bolta kuch aur hai aur karta kuch aur (he says something and does something else) and does not hesitate to betray.
Both Ugly and Bombay Talkies opened in 2013 and I was accepted in both films.
Five years later, he cast me as Shravan Kumar Singh in Mukkabaaz though I had never played a boxer before.
When it is Anurag, a new chapter unfolds for me as an actor with every film.
Will Chhaava's success change the direction of your career now?
I hope it brings along better offers and bigger opportunities.
But if you recall, even after doing the lead role in Mukkabaaz, I was happy playing second fiddle to a new girl in Siya.
I have two sisters and the subject of the film was close to my heart.
As an actor, I felt it was my responsibility to raise my voice for it.
Also, I have decided that every year, I will do an indie film.
It may well go against my mainstream image but if it is propagating an important social message and going to international film festivals with it, it would be well worth the effort.
It is only be 30-32 days out of 365 days and will challenge me as an actor.
Thanks to Chhaava's success, for which I have to thank all my directors, film critics and the audience who have placed their faith in me all these years, praised my work supported me, I now have the creative freedom to pick and choose.
What more can I want!
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