“I became an actor by accident; I wanted to become a filmmaker. I always thought my face is not expressive and I say things simply and straight (straight dialogue delivery). I thought that’s a flaw for an actor, but it worked in my favour and people loved it,” revealed Saurabh Shukla while speaking at a session in Jashn-e-Adab, which was held in Delhi recently.

Shukla, who’s an actor, screenwriter and theatre director, all rolled into one, went on to add, “Sudhir Mishra is my good friend, and he has cast me in almost all his films. He once told me, ‘You are a reluctant actor, and that’s why you are so great. Tere ko padi nahi hai ki tu bahut achhi acting kare.’ “Sehaj hona zaroori hai, and that one should not chase.”

Besides portraying memorable characters in movies such as Satya, Oh My God! and Jolly LLB, Shukla has written the scripts for several films, such as Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, Raat Gayi Baat Gayi and even Satya, where he was the co-writer for the film, which went on to bag several awards. At the gathering, Shukla, who is a theatre actor and director, spoke about his writing process and the difference between acting in films and on stage. He also told the audience why the peak of his career was also one of the lowest phases of his life.

Elaborating on one of his characters essayed on screen – Kallu mama from Satya, which was a huge hit with film buffs – Shukla revealed that the immense success of the role, in fact, became a big reason for his dissatisfaction. Shukla had earlier said that the character of Kallu mama became so synonymous with him that wherever he went, people would shout, “Kallu mama” or sing, “Goli maar bheje mein” (a popular number from the film).

He said, “Ironically, I was going through the worst phase of my life when I was at my peak. The day Satya released, we all became overnight stars. Picture chal gayi thi lekin industry ko koi fark nahi padta tha. Bulate thay, main paise mangta tha aur uska one fourth offer karte thay. (Filmmakers) Bolte thay karna hai toh karo nahi toh jao. Toh bada apman lagta tha. Barnali (a documentary filmmaker and his wife) once told me, ‘Have you realised that you’ve forgotten how to smile.’ And I told her that they (the industry) are not accepting my talent and not giving me my due. There is a character I have written, which is loved by the audience. But the industry is not acknowledging it.”

He shared how his wife told him that he is one of those few lucky people who dreamt of something and their dream came true. He added, “She told me, ‘If you are not happy now, then this journey is not worth taking forward. If you are not happy now, then you will never be happy again. When you trek, you don’t keep looking at the last point; you praise yourself for reached so far and then you move forward.’”

Having dabbled in acting, writing and direction in his long career, veteran artiste Saurabh Shukla is not yet ready to be tied down to any particular genre and is constantly looking forward to exploring new opportunities. “It’s one life, so I am not going to settle for one! I want to do everything and not restrict myself to just acting, writing, directing, doing theatre or playing table tennis. I try to do whatever I want to,” says the National Award-winning actor, who is currently shooting for his upcoming web series, Bindiya, in Lucknow.

He adds, “I try to compartmentalize and concentrate on things that are going on and are in hand. Jis waqt jo cheez aap sehej tarah se kar paa rahe hain, woh kariye… it’s as simple as that. We all try to balance out things as much as we can.”

After the second wave of Coronavirus, he shot for Siddharth Sen Gupta’s series Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein and another project, titled Fear. “In between, I directed a film. And two of my big films — Karan Malhotra’s Shamshera and Milan Luthria’s Tadap will hopefully get a theatrical release,” he says.

The Raid (2018) actor is of the view that some films are made for theatrical experience and should be viewed only on the big screen. “What we call quintessential Bollywood cinema has its own idiom with panache, songs, fanfare and collective cinematic experience. On the other hand, on OTT, it’s more about realism and edgy content, touching upon things and issues that cinema had skipped (to avoid controversies and censorship) all this while,” he says.

Talking about the pandemic, Shukla admits that it did trouble him a lot, but couldn’t slow him down: “In the first lockdown, I became restless. So, with the help of my cinematographer friends, I learnt operating cameras. With trial and error, I started shooting on my own, sans any script, and after months of shooting, I made a 90-minute film that I wrote, directed, acted in and even edited myself.”

“I hope to make my own film this year,” says Saurabh Shukla, who has quite a few projects releasing in 2021, including films and web shows. After his last film, Chhalaang, released on OTT, Shukla says he is glad that digital platforms brought different and interesting stories to the fore.

He explains, “OTT’s identity is the style of storytelling. It had to come up with a new language as cinema had mastered it in the last 100 years while TV is driven by bulk. But on OTT, the finesse and storytelling of cinema exists along with subjects that cinema usually doesn’t talk about. That’s how new stories and new ways of storytelling have come about. This has also given a chance to other characters, besides the protagonists, to shine.”

The National Award-winning actor shot for Manohar Pandey, and was happy to be working with filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly. He is also looking forward to playing the antagonist in Sidharth Sengupta’s web show, a thriller co-starring Tisca Chopra, and is in talks for another show.

Ask about the tough phases in his career and he shares, “Yes, I have had tough times in my career and I still do, and it will be so in the future. Were my past struggles a sad thing? No, never. It depends how you look at life. People ask me often about my struggle and romanticize it. I reply, everyone goes through it, that one didn’t have enough money for rent or lunch. But, I think, how you remember those times is what matters. I am fond of those memories because I made such good friends. All of them have achieved something in life. (Actor) Manoj Bajpayee and (director) Vijay Krishna Acharya were my roommates, (director) Tigmanshu Dhulia was a good friend.”

But, the key, is to keep going. “There was struggle, insecurity. but we’d party every evening. Today, we don’t meet that often. Those parties are something I remember. Tough times are always a part of life and as you are human, you do get scared and depressed at times, but you also have to keep going and moving on,” he concludes.

After the naughty adult comedy 2 To Tango 3 To Jive, Saurabh Shukla is back on the stage with Barff, as a writer, director and actor. As the thriller premieres in Mumbai on Sunday, he speaks to Bombay Times about his comeback to theatre and why doing a play is like taking a vacation for him.

With 2 To Tango... you returned to theatre after a gap of 18 years. Why did you stay away for so long?
When I first came to Mumbai to do films, I could not afford to do plays, as I was trying to make a career in movies. I was scared to commit to theatre. But now I have reached a stage in life where I deserve a holiday. So, instead of blowing up money and travelling to some place fancy for a vacation, I thought why not take three months off and do a play! Working on a play is like taking a vacation and that's why I decided it's the right time to make a comeback.

After doing an adult comedy, what prompted you to take up a serious play like Barff?
Who says this play doesn't have an element of naughtiness to it? The story might not be about sexuality, but it has its own bizarre, funny moments. Originally, Barff was written as a feature film. But I was invited to participate in a theatre festival by National School of Drama. At that time, I didn't have any play ready but I had this story in mind. I thought, why not convert the film into a play.

We've rarely seen thrillers presented on stage. Do you think it's a difficult genre to attempt?
Yes. Though we've had adaptations of international plays like The Mousetrap and Gaslight, I haven't seen an original Hindi thriller yet, so this is the first of its kind. Thrillers are a great genre to work on as you can experiment and do what you want. Also, they give the audience an edge-of-the-seat experience, which is unmatched.

The play is set against the backdrop of Kashmir. Do you think the politics portrayed in it might offend viewers?
This isn't a political play and personally, I don't think there is anything offensive. But then again, you are never free from the politics of a place. I have no intention of creating controversies. But I can't help it if people take offense to anything that happens in my play. I follow the policy, 'I am responsible for what I say, but not for what you understand'.

You've created snow on stage... tell us about it.
I wanted the audience to have the visual experience one has while watching a film. In films, you can shoot at real locations and take multiple shots; we don't have that luxury in theatre. I was inspired by Broadway productions, so I decided to partly emulate their ideas as I didn't want the play to be purely suggestive. It was tough to create snow, because snow machines in India are very expensive and noisy. But we did some research on the internet and developed our own machines, which suited our requirements. We have created the suggestion of mountains, haze and even clouds on stage!

You're shouldering the triple responsibility of being an actor, writer and director with this production. How challenging was it?
I am not worried at all. Actually, Vinay Pathak was originally supposed to play my character and he even performed the opening show for the festival. But he is a busy actor and didn't have the time to perform at the Mumbai premiere. So, I decided to play his character. Now, we are going to have an alternate cast, where both he and I will perform the character alternately.

A lot of film actors, who began their careers with theatre, are returning to the stage...
It's good because theatre is an actor's medium. We need to come back, explore and learn more about our craft. Unlike before, things are much better now. Earlier, people would ask us to give free passes, but now they are willing to pay for the tickets! When actors like Paresh Rawal or Anupam Kher do plays, they ensure commercial success. Of course, theatre isn't as profitable as films and will never be. But it helps you grow as an actor.

Films or theatre, which medium do you prefer?
I will never leave movies. I'm happily married to films, but occasionally, I don't mind having a fling with theatre. I have only one life. I won't settle down for any one thing. So tomorrow, if I want to play cricket work on a TV show or even sing, will do it all.