Showing posts with label Naveen Kasturia interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Naveen Kasturia interview. Show all posts
When Vicky Donor came out, I’d tell people this is my story-Naveen Kasturia
7:55 AM
Niharika Lal (DELHI TIMES; October 13, 2024)
“People have this perception that Delhiites are like Chucha (from Fukrey); they are all loud. But Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye is also Delhi, Vicky Donor is also Delhi,” says Naveen Kasturia, while discussing the image and reputation of the city.
Even if critics felt he doesn’t quite look like a typical Delhi guy, he’ll tell you there is no one format for Dilli ka ladka. In conversation with us, Naveen speaks about his hometown, his popular roles, and how he fell in love with Delhi again.
‘WHEN VICKY DONOR CAME OUT, I’D TELL PEOPLE THAT THIS IS MY STORY’
Naveen grew up in Lajpat Nagar and before moving to Bombay 16 years ago. “Main pura Lajpat Nagar Amar Colony ka product hoon. In fact, when Vicky Donor came out, I’d tell people this is my story. He was from Lajpat Nagar, so am I. Usmein mujhe flaw bhi dikhta tha – woh (Ayushmann’s character) Lajpat se metro leta tha, but people from there use the Moolchand metro station.”
‘Khosla Ka Ghosla represents Delhi’
Naveen says he’s always told that he doesn’t look like he is from Delhi. He says, “I did a film called Sulemani Keeda in which two characters are trying to make it big in Bollywood. Uske ek review mein likha tha, ‘Arey ye Dilli ke bane hue hain ladke, ye Dilli ke toh lagte nahi.’ Ab main Dilli ka hoon aur Dilli ke ladke ka role kar raha hoon, I’m playing myself in a way!”
He adds, “Mere liye badi inspiring film thi Khosla Ka Ghosla. Usmein Khosla sahab ke jo do ladke hain Bunty (played by Ranveer Shourie) aur Chiraunjilal (Parvin Dabas) dono alag hain. That film represents Delhi, I feel.”
‘I find central Delhi very pretty in mornings’
In the last few years, the actor fell in love with Delhi again. He shares, “I think I was shooting for Aspirants, and I’d shoot in central Delhi early in the morning, around 6 am, and I’d find the city very pretty. Main uss waqt wahan jata tha toh mujhe aisi feeling aati thi ki mujhe desh ke liye kuch karna hai. Main roz uss DM ke kirdar mein ghusta tha, waise kapde pehenta tha. At that time I started thinking about doing a job where I could contribute to the country. Maine ek dost se baat ki aur usne kaha, ‘Iss umr mein tu defence mein ja sakta hai kisi tareeqe se, lekin IAS toh ab tu nahi ban sakta.”
‘I really want to do roles set in different worlds’
Talking about the roles he gets, he says, “Sometimes I’ve been slotted into the role of a common guy trying to achieve something, but I really want to do roles set in different worlds. Only when people see me in diverse roles and settings will they start thinking of me in different parts. That’s why I was so happy when I got Breathe and Mithya. I did a role in the second season of Mithya because I really liked the character and the world in which it is set. It’s a really complex part. We shot most of the scenes in Darjeeling. Mithya ke baad Rajit Kapur mere favourite co-actor ban gaye hain. Jab aap manjhe huye actor ke saath kaam karte hain, toh kai baar aap woh cheezein kar jaate hain jo aapne sochi bhi nahi hoti hain.”
When I learnt Jitendra Kumar was not part of Pitchers 2, I was shocked, like everyone one else-Naveen Kasturia
8:21 AM
Though Pitchers 2 got mixed response from audience, Naveen says he prefers it over opening season for its realistic drama
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; January 17, 2023)
Naveen Kasturia, who came into the spotlight seven years ago with Pitchers, has grown both in talent and experience. The past year was significant for the actor as he featured in Breathe: Into the Shadows season 2, and the much-awaited Pitchers 2. In a candid chat with mid-day, he talks about seven-year wait for the second instalment, and the audience’s reaction.
Edited excerpts from the interview.
Was the seven-year wait for the next season of Pitchers worth it?
I don’t know how to answer that. I am happy that it finally happened, and that they didn’t try to copy what they did in season one. This time, the team, crew and cast were all different, as was the approach.
Was the reaction to season 2 similar to how the first instalment was received?
When Pitchers first came [in 2015], it started my career. When Aspirants came on YouTube [in 2021], the pulse lasted quite long. Neither was promoted. When Pitchers 2 started, there was a buzz [among the audience]. I have been getting messages from the day it went on air on ZEE5, but it is difficult for me to gauge the show’s success. The reviews have ranged from average to very good. Some people found it better than the first season, but some have not liked it as much. People whom I admire have said good things about it. My peers praised my acting, and said the season was mature. I am glad that this season didn’t have gags. I like real drama more than jokes or gags. But how do you judge success [on OTT]? Personally, I have liked it more than the first season.
Through both editions, there is no description of what they are selling. So, what exactly is the product?
I am not sure of the product [laughs]. I feel that is the reason the writing took time. When we were discussing this idea five years ago, the [storyline] was to revolve around education, which later became obsolete. Back then, the team was different with Biswapati [Sarkar] writing the storyline. The new team has taken a different approach. At one point, one team was writing with a product in mind, while another team was writing a drama without it. Ultimately, the second [approach] caught their attention.
Why have there been so many changes in the team?
This is not a question for me. When I learnt that Jitu [Jitendra Kumar] was not part of this season, I was shocked, like everyone one else. I couldn’t imagine Pitchers without him. The old team was not there — from the director, to writer to crew. The assistant directors of Pitchers 1 have all become directors — Raghav Subbu directed Kota Factory, and Prem Mistry, who served as an art director, is now a director.
Were you ever morally in conflict with the character?
In the first season, my character was simple. His ethical core was correct. But this time around, I didn’t understand what he was doing. He doesn’t have anything with him, but agrees to commit Rs. 50 crore. Personally, I would never do that. We didn’t have rehearsals or extensive readings [to understand these emotions]. In fact, I came to know what my character was doing at the end of the fifth episode, only on the set. But I believe it is the director’s medium. The makers have done their research.
Is another season in the works?
They have left so many cliffhangers, that it should have a third season. But finally, that is a call the makers will take.
I was nervous about shooting with Rajkummar Rao-Naveen Kasturia
7:51 AM
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; August 30, 2017)
He might have started out as an assistant director, but Naveen Kasturia knew that he belonged in front of the camera, not behind it. His belief has been validated since — after winning acclaim for his acts in Sulemani Keeda (2014) and TVF Pitchers (2015), Kasturia has now been roped in to play Darbari Lal in the web series, Bose Dead/Alive.
Kasturia tells mid-day, “The story is narrated from my point of view. I play a hawaldar who witnesses the revolution led by Subhash Chandra Bose.” Working with Rajkummar Rao, who plays the enigmatic leader, brought back memories for Kasturia — the latter was an assistant director on Rao’s Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010). “I remember I’d go to the vanity van to call Raj for his shots,” he reminisces and goes on to add, “I was nervous about shooting with Raj. He gave me tips to get my character right, also teaching me how to smoke, for a scene.”
Besides Bose, the actor has also begun shooting for a new web series, Social, that stars Rana Daggubati. About his role, Kasturia says, “I play a doting brother who is in search of his missing sister. The kidnapping goes on to unravel many more mysteries.”
With two web series and a film with Naseeruddin Shah under his belt, he feels his career is finally shaping up the way he had envisioned. “After Pitchers, I felt I had arrived. But, I wasn’t offered anything for a year. Now, things are finally picking up. Acting has given me respect and exposure. It’s all I want to do.”
Meet the Famous Four of The Viral Fever
8:42 AM
The Viral Fever’s faces on coming to terms with being recognised on the streets for their popular videos
Deepali Singh (DNA; July 17, 2016)
If the names Ipsa, Saumya, Jitu or Naveen Bansal don’t
ring a bell, you have probably been living under a rock. If they do,
you’d probably be as excited as us when we caught up with the talented
foursome — Nidhi Bisht, Akanksha Thakur, Jitendra Kumar and Naveen
Kasturia — also known by their screen names.
Anonymous no more
While all of them have been associated with the creative fields in some form or the other — Kasturia even acted in the movie Sulemani Keeda — they all owe their popularity to The Viral Fever (TVF). The online digital entertainment channel’s web sketches such as Tech Conversations with Dad, Ek Thi Behen, Chai Sutta Chronicles and Rowdies among others and web series such as Permanent Roommates and Pitchers, have made them online stars. So much so, that even the guy at the local train’s ticketing window recognised Kumar as ‘Jitu from that TVF show’ and refused to take any money! “I had to request him to take it as it was sarkaari money after all,” laughs Kumar.
No Dilli-return
Leaving a successful law career behind, Bisht came to Mumbai from Delhi seven years ago, while Kumar, who hails from Khairtal, Rajasthan quit an engineering project in Bangalore to pursue his passion for acting.
Kasturia also moved bag and baggage from Delhi eight years ago and was an assistant director in movies such as Shanghai and LSD before landing a role in the movie Sulemani Keeda, and later, a sketch called Rowdies for TVF and then the lead role in Pitchers. “Till my fourth year in Mumbai, my parents kept telling me to leave this ‘hobby’ and come back to Delhi,” he recalls.
Thakur, from Mumbai, too had to face opposition from home as her parents did not entirely approve of her career choice. “For a long time, they didn’t understand what I was doing. Of course, now they watch all the shows,” she says, while Kumar shares that his father who has grown to love his shows, sends him a letter with a self-written poem after each sketch.
Yeh dosti…
Most of these actors have known each other when they were struggling to get a break. Bisht has known Kasturia from her Delhi theatre days (“He is my oldest friend in Mumbai. If I ever write an autobiography one chapter will be dedicated to him,” she quips while he retorts, “She has stayed with me in my house when she shifted to the city, made Maggi and swept my house too.”), she was Thakur’s first director in a play that they both did together. Kumar was TVF’s writer and Creative Director Biswapati Sarkar’s junior in IIT-Kharagpur and has known him for many years. “The other day somebody mentioned that it’s been a little more than four years that Rowdies came out and I was like ‘Really, has it been only four years? Feels like we’ve all known each other since forever,” smiles Bisht.
Thakur, too, met Bisht while they were both doing plays in Mumbai. “I first met her during the play Afwaah where I acted and she was doing backstage production,” recalls Bisht, while Kasturia adds that he was a part of Afwaah, but got thrown out due to some issues. “Was it because you reached late?” Kumar teases him, knowing his penchant for coming late. “One of my bosses once told me, ‘Naveen your problem is not that you’re getting late, it is that you’re getting late and you don’t even show any urgency to resolve that,” laughs Kasturia. Ask them if they would like to continue their association with the stage and Bisht replies, “Yes of course. I have my own theatre production company and once things are more settled here, I would like to do at least one production a year.”
Eye on the bigger picture
There is a whole lot of stuff happening at TVF, including new sketches, web series and hopefully, even a movie by next year. “The ultimate dream is to do movies and be a part of them. All of us want that and are working towards it,” says Kumar, and Kasturia, in an aside, tells us that he would love to work with Alia Bhatt. “I think she’s the best actor we have now,” he adds.
Bisht also has something interesting up her sleeve, but isn’t willing to reveal much at this point. At TVF, Season 2 of Pitchers will be out by next year and Kasturia and Kumar are looking forward to that. With so much excitement in their lives, we proceed to take their leave but before we do, we have to ask Kumar and Thakur the one thing that most viewers of their shows would love to know — Are they seeing each other? “We’re both single,” they laugh and answer together, while Bisht comments, “They are the Shah Rukh-Kajol of our TVF. But they are both ‘just good friends’. They maintain that and so do we.”
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