Saurabh Shukla speaks to rediff.com

Transcript of the interview with Saurabh Shukla

What's Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar all about?

It is basically black comedy, not a spoof. It talks about all the disorders in the city and the way our morality is going. It is a realistic film. Why do I make realistic films, like Satya? Because that's the kind of films I like to do. Capturing reality is very difficult and challenging.

If you carefully see my work, it is all black comedy. We usually categorize subjects as comedy and serious. But there is more than just this. Like when we laugh, we sometimes also cry. There can be certain viciousness to this action if there is too much of it. It is the same with romance, which gets too much after a point. There is always a comic element in every situation.

For the film Satya, Ramu (Ramgopal Verma) had called me and said he wanted to make a story of a man's journey when he comes into Bombay. What excited me in the film was the kind of freedom Ramu gave me. For instance, usually a gangster is shown like a black ghost who comes from a strange planet. But in Satya, we decided to portray the gangster as someone we can easily identify with.

In Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, the protagonist also comes to Bombay to discover life like in Satya…

The protagonist of Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar comes from a small town. But in Satya he has come from nowhere, so there already is a dark background. He's unhappy with the system and a rebel right from the beginning.

In Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar he's extremely happy and is one who has accepted life, exactly like me! I was doing a job in Delhi earning Rs 3,000 per month. When I came to Mumbai my first job got me Rs 12,000! I came to Mumbai, the city of dreams and started by achieving my dreams. Now, everyday is like a dream -- I have no idea who will call me and what I will do. So there is a sense of achievement in this city. But behind this sense of achievement, what do you actually lose? That is the story of Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar.

What did you lose?

I have lost many things. I have lost my appetite. I have lost my innocence. And I have lost satisfaction.

Have you become the characters you write about?

Definitely not! I write out the character when I see or experience something -- that's about the only realistic thing. For instance, in Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar the story is about the choices everybody has and how we make them. Even I had to make some of the choices mentioned in the film. But in the film, it has been taken to a dramatic level.

Are you a writer who is just acting?

I am more into acting than writing. Acting takes less time; writing takes more. Physically you cannot write too much.

It was clear to me right in the beginning that I could write. But I don't want to be a professional screenplay writer. I can write, do screenplay jobs for three months and another for about three months, but I can't write something I don't know about. But acting? I can do that whenever.

Are you happier acting?

It gives me a lot of money. And yes, (I am) happier. Acting gives you a different kind of satisfaction. Writing is a very tedious process. It frustrates you. But once it is finally over, then I enjoy it.

The acting process starts when you get the script. The moment you act, it is over. There is nothing to be happy about and there is noting to be sad about whether you have made a mistake or not.

Playing a gangster seems to be your favourite character?

I have done quite a lot of movies. I started out in Bandit Queen as Phoolan's cousin called Kailash. In my second film Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin I play a gangster, a cold-blooded killer whose wife has just died.

In Satya, I played a different kind of gangster, one who is very loyal and kind-hearted gangster. In Kareeb I played the father of a small town boy. Taal had me as a manager of a small music company. Finally there is Snip which is an English movie where I play a gangster who falls in love.

For God sake please don't think that I doing the same role. They may be all gansgters but are all completely different personalities. I do the role of a gangster because it's kind of a fantasy for me.

The character of the gangster is also complex in each of these roles, which is what fascinates me. Take, for instance, Snip. I am a gangster facing a mid-life crisis. One day, he gets drunk and wakes up in a girl's company. Here is a savage guy in the company of a girl, and he is driven by a strange desire -- not a sexual one but one where he's missing a girl in his life. So he freaks out.

In Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, I play a videographer who is a marriage video specialist. The man has bought a camera but after that his business has gone down the hill and now he wants to make a quick buck. So what does he do? Tries making blue films!

Such characters fascinate me. I can't be like them in real life. So why not in a fantasy?

Produced by SoundPicture Communications

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