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Seth and match

Suparn Verma

Roshan Seth Click for bigger pic!

Roshan Seth is sitting in his make-up room. The window is open since the air-conditioner isn't working. There's a bound copy of the script laid out open on the bed, a hardcopy of the novel by Rohinton Mistry lies next to it. The actor opens a pack of 555, lights a stick, smiles, and asks, "Do you want to speak to me about my role?"

Traces of the Nehru he played still linger in that cultured voice. But you try to dismiss the connection, and concentrate on the real man instead.

The actor had given fair warning when he arrived in Bombay some weeks ago to start work on the film: "I don't give interviews when I'm shooting; I'm totally into my role while I'm working... I hate losing my concentration."

Roshan Seth as Jawaharlal Nehru in Gandhi. Click for bigger pic!

However, today he is quite ready to discuss his role -- after he has vent his spleen on the state-managed Film City, "I'm trying to conserve my energy... This Film City is the most demoralising place. It's the same as it was when I was shooting for Bharat Ek Khoj. Every inch of the place reeks of government control."

He draws in a few deep, relaxing puffs. Calmer, he continues, "I'm trying to perceive the character the way the author perceived Gustad Noble. Gustad is a very god-fearing man; his name says that he is a noble man. He is a middle-class Parsi, working in the Central Bank. He doesn't have a high flying career, he is married with a wife and three kids.

"His eldest son has got admission to IIT and he is very excited because he thinks this way his son won't face any hardship in future... Being in the IIT has secured his future."

"Gustad didn't have an easy life. His father and grandfather who lost a lot of money in their business... Then things start going wrong in his life -- it starts with the disappearance of his friend Jimmy Billimoria, then his son rebels against him, his daughter falls ill and another friend Dinshaw dies. Then Jimmy appears one day to ask Gustad to do something dishonest. Finally Gustad finds some courage. At which point the story ends."

Roshan Seth Click for bigger pic!

Roshan Seth echoes his director when he refutes that the film essentially isn't about the Parsi community or a Parsi man, " The fact is that he just happens to be Parsi. If I were to put it in a sentence, Gustad Noble has the basic instincts and the morality of most middle-class people."

Seth is pleased the way the film's script has shaped up. "The good thing about the film is that it is very faithful to the novel, which may prove to be a hurdle or a bonus -- that only time will tell. Films have certain limitations, they have certain parameters, and it is very difficult to put a book into a film, though this book is very visual."

His reservations notwithstanding, Seth is visibly excited about his role, "Very seldom in my life have I played a character that is so fulfilling. Actually, I resisted this role because I thought I didn't fit the character, Gustad is a much bigger and older man than me. Earlier, I was chosen to play Gustad's part, then without being informed I was eased out (by another director). Later, I was approached for Jimmy Billimoria's part, but then Gustad's role came back to me."

And this time, he didn't let go to what may yet be a role of a lifetime for him.

Photographs by Jewella C Miranda

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