On the threshold of his impending nuptials and with the success of Veere Di Wedding behind him, Sumeet Vyas talks about how it feels to be taken seriously, the pressures of juggling between movies and the web
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 19, 2018)

Though his big breakthrough moment was in English Vinglish (2012), Sumeet Vyas has had a tough road to success in the movies. Digitally, he became a star long before Netflix and Amazon entered the Indian market with their glossy shows. The awkward, boy-next-door in TVF's Permanent Roommates (2014) created for him a steady fan base, but it was eventually this year's Veere Di Wedding, which catapulted him into the big league, making everyone take notice of him. We met up with Vyas at a quaint Andheri cafe.

There was a flurry of quick hellos as he bumped into a few industry folks. Vicky Kaushal (who was having coffee at the next table) walked up to him to say he is a big fan. Not many know that Kaushal's delightful Netflix movie — Love Per Square Foot was written by Vyas. Ask him if the success of Veere Di Wedding changed the game for him, he says, "In a good way, yes, things are different. I won't say it changed my life, but it added to the roles I was being offered. Once there is a successful film, people take you more seriously. People are less afraid to put their money on me now."

In an earlier chat, Sumeet had mentioned that writing is his forte and acting is his passion. The latter has now taken a front foot in his life, he says. "I always wanted to act, but writing was working better for me. I am choosy about the roles I do, which leaves me with a lot of forced free time. Rather than gymming, I prefer to use the time productively and channel my energy in the right direction. A few things I wrote did well, which helped me establish myself as a writer."

But lamentably for fans, his writing work has taken a backseat. "In the last year and a half, acting has taken centre stage. But I am back to writing the second season of Tripling. It is hard to please TVF, they are tough taskmasters."

It was assumed that the popular shows of TVF had taken a backseat when the company's public image took a hit following the scandal around CEO Arunabh Kumar, (Kumar was accused of sexual harassment by multiple female colleagues in March 2017). "It wasn't organically working out till it did. We were not actively trying to distance ourselves. Writing a good concept takes time. We took almost a year to finish scripting for the season two. During my travel to the North East, I had a lot of free time in between hiking and biking to think about fresh concepts."

The digital content is being mapped differently since the release of Sacred Games. As one of the few who stepped into the arena back in 2015 with Bang Baaja Baaraat, which he had co-written with Anand Tiwari, Vyas says it's easy to take the pressure and rush into content just to capitalise on recall value. "I won't deny that it has faintly crossed our minds. Kahin log humein bhul na jaye… But Tripling's season two piqued curiosity among fans. This is a 'David versus Goliath' situation. We might not have the financial power to push our shows, but we do everything from the heart, which will have a lasting effect. If something doesn't work, it simply means we couldn't connect with people, not because they found an alternative. That would be a myopic and insecure way of looking at things," insists Vyas.

The challenge that Vyas faces nowadays is to maintain a balance between movies and web; being an actor and writer. "Last year I didn't shoot for anything on the web, just movies. This year I am consciously working on the web. It's worrying when similar roles come my way. I don't want to replicate what I am already known for. I want to be far removed from the boy next door and gullible characters. I am playing a grey character in It's Not That Simple [also stars Swara Bhasker], which sees me as a shrewd businessman. I find him fascinating. It is in my comfort zone to crack a few jokes and be the funny man, but I need to exhibit my range if I have to stay in this world for long." Is movie writing next on cards? "After Bang Baaja Baaraat I wanted to write, and there were concepts, but I can't do it in the formula they want in the stipulated time they expect. I can't write for money. I act for it. I write stories because that's what I love to do."

Personally, life is looking better for Vyas. All set to tie the knot with telly actor Ekta Kaul in Jammu next month, he says there is a sense of blissful contentment. "We actually met six years ago when we were shooting for a pilot of a television show which never took off. I met her again on a show I was hosting, where she was a contestant. We kept in touch. I called her for a play few months later; I just wanted to impress her [laughs]. I don't have one-liners, just the straightforward approach worked. At the core of it, she is ambitious, kind and her values are intact. I love that she isn't filmy. Sadly, films are all I used to talk about, my friends and family are from this industry. I discovered the art of conversation with her. We don't discuss common people we know or criticise projects that aren't good enough. She became the home I could come back to and disconnect from work. I love that we both are desi. It was a moment of sheer astonishment when she said she likes me too. That's love, it requires no logic and no reason."

Moving on after a failed marriage [to Shivani Tanksale] wasn't an easy task for the English Vinglish actor. "We were intelligent people, who knew after a point, that we can't make each other happy. In the effort to sustain a marriage, we were losing out a friendship. I moved out of the house and lived alone for the first time in my life. The bad days were terrible — I had a drinking phase for seven months. It wasn't easy for Ekta, because I wasn't fully present in the first few months of our relationship. My guard was up. Writing kept me going. Anything I experience is a story waiting to be told. It's a blessing as an artiste, but the person is killed a stab at a time."

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 3, 2016)