I'll never go back to theatre: Piyush Mishra
Piyush Mishra talks about creativity, movies, friendships, success and failures
It is difficult to get a recluse talk. But we managed to achieve this feat, and the result was, not surprisingly, quite overwhelming. Piyush Mishra has donned many hats. He is a thespian, writer, singer, composer and of course an actor. Having proven his mettle in theatre for over 20 years, he moved to Bollywood. And in many ways, this was also the beginning of a journey of self discovery for him. From unexpected hurdles to learning to let go, from fighting his own demons to forgiving his enemies, he has finally found what he calls his 'comfort zone'. Here he talks about his next comedy, his relationship with Anurag Kashyap, his new-found love for acting and much more...
You are working with Anupam Kher and Annu Kapoor in The Shaukeens...
Yes, my only worry was whether I would look in the same age category as them. They were my seniors at NSD (National School of Drama) so there was no question of competing with them. It was great fun to work together. The script has been altered a lot. Apart from the premise of the original, everything has been changed. But if you were to look in comparison to the original, I am playing the character played by Utpal Dutt; Anupam Kher is in Ashok Kumar's role and Annu Kapoor has AK Hangal's role.
Was it easy to lech?
It was easy to play a lech. But Lisa (Haydon) is such a good girl... usko dekh kar lech karne ki bhavna nahi hoti. She's a very saintly girl.
Tell us about your character...
I play Harishakar Goel whose pet name is Pinky. He has money but has no class. He knows only to lech, but doesn't know how to patao a girl. He and his friends face failure, not only in India, but even in Mauritius!
Did you hesitate to do this character, it was so different from all that you have done and been associated with these years...
I was keen to do it. I was eager to shed all the weight... the tags of being from NSD, working with Anurag Kashyap, being associated with Gangs of Wasseypur, Maqbool... It was getting a bit too much. This was a good chance of doing comedy. But I have done it very seriously. There's one point where the other two guys tell me that 'you are not our contenders when it comes to wooing a girl because you don't have class'. He explains seriously that 'I am as bad as you are, I have the same bad habits, I lech at girls'. The treatment is comic, but it has a tragic background.
You have written Shuddhi...
Yes, it's been complete for about two-and-a-half years now. It's not based on any book. It was Karan Malhotra's idea and I developed it.
How do you find time for everything?
I don't know why people keep insisting that they are busy. I find time for my work and my family. When I am travelling, I read books. I can't survive without them. These days I don't need company. Even when I was shooting for The Shaukeens the cast members would complain that I wouldn't socialise post work. But I think that we see enough of each other during the day. After work I would retire. My wife understands my trip. It took time to accept it. I have changed a lot. No one wanted to give me company then. I was terribly violent, a drunkard and obsessed with my work. For 20 years, I would keep working. I worked a lot, but in the process lost my peace of mind. I stopped drinking and got myself under control over the last four-five years.
Alcoholism is often associated with creativity...
It is, but I firmly believe that you can't do anything when you have consumed alcohol. I have never done any work when I am high. Once, I tried writing after a drink or two and it was a disaster. Alcohol creates an illusion that you have done a lot, but actually you are nowhere near your goal. If there's anything faster than the speed of light then that's alcohol!
You are concentrating on books and writing these days...
These days I am writing personal stuff. I am collecting my old poems which are being published, two books have been printed already. I am also planning to publish the plays I have written. Writing a play is extremely difficult. Writing poems and stories is easy, writing plays is something altogether different. We end up translating, adapting stuff that's already available.
Don't you want to direct?
I am in a comfort zone and it will need some effort to get out of it.
If you were to direct a film, what kind of movie do you see yourself directing?
I would like to make the kind of genre that Rajkumar Hirani does. That's my style of writing too. I have a plot in mind and I have already penned a bit of it. It will make people laugh, but it's based on a very serious topic. That's one script that I want to direct.
You have worked a lot with Anurag Kashyap...
I used to do a lot of plays back then and Anurag used to come watch it. But in those days people preferred to keep away from me unless they had some work. I regret it now, but that's how it was. Later when I saw Shool, I called Anurag and told him that he had written it very well. That's when he told me that he was an admirer of my work, but never had the courage to come and talk to me.
Was he responsible for you coming to Mumbai?
Not particularly him, but in a way all of them – Anurag, Manoj Bajpayee, Shoojit Sircar, Vishal Bhardwaj. The moment I came here, Vishal gave me Maqbool, Shoojit asked me to write Yahaan, Manoj got me to write 1970, Anurag gave me lot of work. They knew me. I came to Mumbai to work on The Legend of Bhagat Singh in 2001. That was the first time I stayed in Mumbai for six months. Before that I used to visit Mumbai on and off, but after that time I felt I could live here and work here. Then I called my family in 2003.
You have worked with Anurag and Vishal, would you put them both in the same category?
Not at all. Anurag is married to cinema. Vishal is a organised person. Anurag is a self-destructive person. Until he destroys himself he cannot create something. Vishal is not like that at all. Both can make great movies and terrible ones. But with Anurag he can make a brilliant first half and the second half will be terrible. That's not the case with Vishal. His movies are either good or bad. Anurag's mentality is so vague that while making the movie he'll think of something else. Both are genius makers.
Is Anurag your favourite director?
He is, but he has many flaws. I don't agree with his cinema at all, but sometimes I love the moments that he creates so much that you can't deny that he is a good filmmaker. I agree with two of his movies completely - Black Friday and Gangs of Wasseypur. Of his movies, Paanch has a great first half, Gulaal changes it path mid-way, Dev D falls short of being a great film, and I didn't like Gangs of Wasseypur 2 at all. But he can't think of anything else. Apart from his, I love Dibakar Bannerjee's movies like Khosla Ka Ghosla, I love Rajkumar Hirani. He is the one I really want to work with.
You are very close to each other...
There's a saying that if you get too close to someone they will take you for granted. Unfortunately, we got too close to each other. Anurag and I know each other so well that we end up fighting. It's difficult to explain our relationship. Apart from a few phone conversations, these days we are away from each other.
Besides writing lyrics you have also sung songs. Have you trained in music?
I haven't learnt anything. I did learn acting at NSD, but I never had any formal training where music is concerned. Whatever I have touched when it comes to art, it has come naturally to me. That's why I never call myself talented, I call myself gifted. Earlier I was very egoistic, but now I realise that it's a gift.
Did you have to struggle in Bollywood?
Yes, there was struggle, but somethings surprised me. When Maqbool released in 2004, I expected that to be my big break. But nobody took my name. They would keep telling me that Shekhar Kapoor called, Aamir Khan called, but when it came to giving credit, I wasn't mentioned even once. My real struggle began after that. For a theatre person like me, getting such an important role in a play by Shakesphere but not making a mark was shameful. I was shattered! I did Jhoom Barabar Jhoom after that, but hardly anyone saw it. It was after Gangs of Wasseypur I saw a remarkable difference. After GOW, I attended a course of Vipassna, it sorted out a lot of things for me. And made a huge change to my life.
Of all the roles you've done, which one do you like the most?
It's difficult to pick one, but am very attached to Revolver Rani though the film flopped. It took me back to my home town Gwalior where as a kid I hadn't had very good experiences. Director Sai Kabeer shot there. And this time around I found it beautiful. Also, I play a lead in an independent Hollywood film called The Playback Singer. It's a bout a guy who troubles his daughter Priya. My wife's name happens to be Priya, who I have troubled a lot. So that came naturally to me (laughs).
Today stories are taking centre stage in movies once again...
Satya was the pioneer of this. Before that things were very bad. And after Maqbool it became a norm.
Your favourite actor?
Om Puri. A better actor hasn't been born yet. Also Annu Kapoor. The only problem with them is that they don't have that kind of mass appeal. You can't compare Amitabh Bachchan to him because people like Charlie Chaplie, Amitabh Bachchan are a phenomena. People like them are sent with something extra in them. I would also like to add that Dimple Kapadia and Sarika are the two actresses ever born in India. They have never been explored the way they should have been. I saw Dimple's movie Aitbaar (1985) which was a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M For Murder. Dimple performed Grace Kelly's role in the film -- who herself was a great actor. But she was miles ahead of Kelly in Aitbaar. She is a complete actress and can deliver any performance effortlessly. Same goes for Sarika.
You have worked very closely with Kangana Ranaut in Revolver Rani and with Lisa in The Shaukeens. How was it working with the younger generation of actors?
They are great to work with. Kangana is a badmaash girl, Lisa is cute. Kangana want to experience everything that life has to offer. Lisa is getting roles like she is in real life. Kangana is not worried about success of films, she'll do anything that she wants to.
Do you believe in method acting?
A guy called Stanislavski was accidentally born and he has spoilt everyone. People have read his books and think they have aced acting. I hate this term 'method acting'. Actors keep asking for motivation for every small, inconsequential thing. Your motivation should be that the bloody light is going and you need to finish the shoot! Did Motilal or Yakub ever seek motivation? This has become a craze post '70s. Every actor has a method of acting, that's method acting. Is it some serum that you can inject to become an actor? Today many theatres are using simplified terms like 'good' or 'not good'. All these heavy words like motivation have come from the US. When I was in the US to work on The Playback Singer, there were people from acting studios in LA and New York. Before a shot, they would sit down and keep talking about the shot and the character's motivation for doing certain things. For the first few days, I kept quiet. I had learnt everything about the script because I had read it every day for a month before the shooting began. For the first few days, I didn't get any bhaav, but then they understood that this guy can act. After a few days, they started listening to me. They would keep looking for motivation. I suggested, 'Let's not talk about it, let's rehearse it'. The director Suju Vijayan had done many TV shows, but this was her first movie. She was glad that I took the lead. After two-three rehearsals, we got the scene. She was very pleased. Again in the next scene, they got back to talking over it. To simplify acting, you need to complicate it. Because only after you complicate things, you understand that if you can make people laugh and cry, you can act. Either one can act or one hams. NSD is a great institute, but even there, there is one brilliant actor every 10 years. No one likes to be told that he/she can't act. You can hear yourself and know whether you are a good or bad singer. But it's a sin to tell anyone that they can't act.
Between theatre and movies, do you have a favourite?
I went away from theatre because I was tired after working for 20 years. I was exhausted emotionally, physically as well as financially.
Will you ever go back to it?
There's no way I'll go back.
Do you watch plays?
No, I don't because it troubles me a lot. I feel tempted. The last play I saw was Piya Behrupiya. The long lines they say makes you reminisce your days. But life is about moving on. I keep going to Delhi to NSD. It's like a teerth sthal.
Any plans to pen an autobiography?
Anyone who says that he has written an honest autobiography is lying. No one is that honest. Yes, I am writing a book on an actor's life, but that will be hugely influenced by fiction. The title of my book is Hamlet Kabhi Bombay Nahi Gaye. It is a huge novel and will take some time to finish.
Are you unhappy with the quality of lyrics today?
The best phase of music is over. It was till 1970s, after that something is missing. Gulzar saab and Javed saab are the last poets to use Urdu. Today, even to say 'I love you', people use I, L and U. Hindi is disappearing. People don't give you Hindi scripts in Devanagri, people prefer to give it to you in English.
- Bollywood
- Piyush Mishra
- Annu Kapoor
- Anupam Kher
- Anurag Kashyap
- Amitabh Bachchan
- Creativity
- Films
- Kangana Ranaut
- Karan Malhotra
- Manoj Bajpayee
- National School of Drama
- Rajkumar Hirani
- relationship
- The Shaukeens
- Vishal Bhardwaj
- Maqbool
- Mumbai
- Wasseypur
- Aitbaar
- Grace Kelly
- India
- Revolver Rani
- Sarika
- Shoojit Sircar
- Aamir Khan
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Ashok Kumar
- Bhagat Singh
- Delhi
- Dimple Kapadia
- Gulzar
- Gwalior
- Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
- New York
- Paanch
- Puri
- Shekhar Kapoor
- Utpal Dutt
- Yahaan
- Piya Behrupiya
- Nahi Gaye
- Khosla Ka Ghosla
- Harishakar Goel
- Playback Singer
- Dibakar Bannerjee
- US
- Javed
- Stanislavski
- U. Hindi
- Alfred Hitchcock Dial
- Satya
- Suju Vijayan
- Yakub
- National School
- Lisa
- Shakesphere
- Sai Kabeer
- Vipassna
- AK Hangal
- Urdu
- Haydon
- Devanagri
- Charlie Chaplie
- LA
- Priya