Shashank Arora, bhai to Bollywood's bhai, Salman Khan, on building a rapport with actor during Bharat shoot
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; April 12, 2019)

As it would have been with his contemporaries as well, Shashank Arora did not ask for any other detail when Ali Abbas Zafar approached him for the role of Salman Khan's brother. "I didn't have any knowledge about the film, and only learnt, when things were finalised, that I was set to work on Bharat," says the actor, sheepishly.

Given the command Khan enjoys on set, Arora says he can be intimidating if not given the "space he deserves". "Salman sir needs his space because he deserves it; he has earned it. He is a force of nature, and if you intrude, you will feel intimidated. I always got to share [screen] space with him, and, in the process, we built a rapport. Egos were absent. In fact, since the film is set in four to five different time periods, it was interesting to reconnect in a new avatar."

Having shined in small-budget films like Titli (2014) and Brahman Naman (2016), Arora cherished the process of working on the "biggest set" he's been on. "I have never been part of such a big production, so this was new. The scale was huge and we had some of the finest technicians from around the globe working with us. There was a lot to learn."

Currently busy with his upcoming web show, Gangster Newton, Shashank Arora on why it’s important for filmmakers to be passionate about craft of storytelling
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; May 15, 2018)

Shashank Arora is a man who dons many hats, and each one, with panache. Currently filming for actor Nakuul Mehta’s production, the web show Gangster Newton, the writer, music composer and actor is now set to explore direction too. Apart from his upcoming Indian project, Manto, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Purab Kohli and Paresh Rawal, Arora is also awaiting the release of Songs Of Scorpions. The latter features Golshifteh Farahani, Irrfan Khan and Waheeda Rehman and is set to release next month. When we meet him at his Goregaon apartment, he talks to us about juggling multiple roles, and turning down big projects. Edited excerpts from the interview.

Your upcoming web show, Gangster Newton, has an unusual title. Tell us about it.
It’s about a young Maharashtrian boy who fails to find a job despite being an IIT topper. He has struggled all his life, and despite being studious, doesn’t get a job. He never made friends or fell in love, because he wanted to study and be an achiever. In the end, a garage owner gives him a job. He later realises that there is something sinister going on in the garage and they [the workers] are part of a mafia gang. He kills everyone and rises to the top [to be part of the mafia circle]. He has no physical strength, and only uses his mind to make his move. He uses mathematics to fight and calls himself Newton.

What is the status of the project?
We are yet to shoot the entire series. Since everyone got busy with other projects, this one took a backseat. But, we will wrap it up this year. We don’t have a The Big Bang Theory [American show, based on geeks] here. We don’t have to copy them, but the effect it [the show] has had on the population is brilliant.

Is the show expected to have violence?
There will be a bit of it, but ultimately, it is a story of a boy and his use of maths. Every episode is based on a [real-life] scientist and that is more than I should have said. There is nothing like it in the web space right now.

Are you consciously choosing non-commercial projects?
My decisions have been organic. I have refused conventional roles since Titli (2015) released. I refuse to do films where I can’t bring something to the table or grow as an actor. I want to serve the audience with something good.

There were reports of you turning down some big-ticket projects. Were those decisions easy to take? 
I did feel scared and worried that if I gave the wrong impression, I would be ignored in the industry. But it depends on how you say no. If you have a legitimate reason, the person will understand. I never let the producers feel there is something lacking in the project. I ask two questions before I agree to take up a role: ‘Why does this person want to tell this story’ and ‘do they like telling stories’. If a filmmaker is making a film for money alone, they will not be able to tell the story. Money is important, but it is not my primary motive.

But not all projects you take up can be successful, take the example of Rock On 2 (2016).
I liked the script [of Rock On 2]. It was a story of a band that was trying to make people aware of the plight of farmers. But certain films don’t turn out the way you expect them to. [Even today] I don’t see Rock On as something I wouldn’t be part of.

You’ve dabbled in various fields. What part of the business comes naturally to you?
Music and writing comes easier than acting and direction.

Are you composing anything new?
I am composing for a Malayalam film called Moothon, which has been written by Anurag Kashyap. It stars Nivin Pauly and sees me as the villain. It is about a boy who comes to Mumbai in search of his brother. It was shot in Kamathipura, Dharavi and Andaman. We are expecting a year-end release.

Following a string of failed auditions, his debut took him to Cannes, his second to Sundance
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 2, 2016)

"I hope you don’t mind if I keep my shades on,” says Shashank Arora, as he settles down for breakfast at an all-day eatery in Versova. The actor made waves with his piercing gaze as the lead in last year’s disturbing tale of desperate measures, Titli. The reason for hiding behind his kaala chashma, he continues, is because he can barely keep his eyes open. “I was dubbing for Rock On 2 till 4:30 this morning,” he says of his upcoming release, where he plays a bassist in a rock band. Also on the cards for Shashank, is Alankrita Shrivastava’s Lipstick Under My Burkha and Qissa director Anup Singh’s The Song of Scorpions, which stars Irrfan Khan, Waheeda Rahman and Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani. “Galti se I’m also there in it,” he says cheekily of the latter.

“When I first came to Mumbai, following a film course in Montreal, I auditioned for every role — films, TV, commercials — but didn’t nail a single one. From Famous Studios to Aaram Nagar, I walked as much as the next guy and eventually took up art direction for a horrible TV show which didn’t even pay me.” It is then that it dawned on the 27-year-old that “Mumbai was a city of business” and that breaking into Bollywood was about more “than just the craft”. “My mom and dad have always taken care of me, so I was never into it for the money. But then, people took advantage of this and wouldn’t pay me.”

Following a string of rejections, when Shashank was on the verge of a breakdown, his dad suggested he approach the art “like it were a science”. “Acting is something one can invest the entire life in learning, so I joined Whistling Woods,” the Delhi-born actor says. He credits his professor, Robert Reece, for teaching everything he knows. “Most actors say that they ‘feel it’. But what is the process to conjure an emotion required in a scene, is what I learnt from him.” Reece even hired him as an assistant at the film school for a year, posing a more pertinent question. “If I was good enough to teach, why wasn’t I getting a single break? But teaching taught me a lot and I convinced myself that cracking auditions has little to do with my knowledge and kept at it.”

He even took a job with casting director Saher Latif (Furious 7, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) on the condition that she’d allowed him to audition for every part that came her way. While nothing materialised from this arrangement, in 2012 Shashank met writer-director Kanu Behl, who offered him hope. “Kanu told me he’s writing something and that I should come and see him in a year.” When he did, he learnt that he hadn’t made the cut. “Then he (Behl) asked me to make tea for him and I went into kitchen. That’s when he said that Dibakar (Banerjee) and Aditya Chopra (the producers) liked my audition and I was cast for the lead in Titli. I broke into tears. Just a day prior to that, I was willing to do a one-scene role as a security guard. I thanked him and left his apartment, and sat down on the street and called my dad to share the news. Then, I got myself a beer at 12:30 in the afternoon.”

Shashank’s performance didn’t go unnoticed as the film travelled to festivals across the world, endorsing his potential. “Steve Barron, a producer, saw it at London Film Festival and cast me as the lead in Brahman Naman,” he says of the Netflix release, directed by Q. “I hadn’t seen many films by Q apart from Gandu, which I saw half and didn’t quite like.” In the film, Shashank essays the eponymous role of a quiz nerd from the 1980s. “It was a Brahman character from 1980s Bangalore. I am from Delhi and I had no clue of that time or culture. So, I did my own research.” His best compliment remains the one he received from Reece, who felt that “Titli and Naman were two different people”. Abhishek Banerjee, the casting director of Rock On 2 was also impressed with Shashank’s debut. “I had initially auditioned for a different role but then I got cast as a band mate,” says the actor who has learnt to play the ukulele, guitar and flute.

“My first film went to Cannes and my second (Brahman Naman) to Sundance in the competition category for Best Drama feature, so I am very lucky.” But despite all the accolades, he feels that the audience for films depicting reality is scattered. “We don’t want to confront our lives through films. This is why most prefer films which are like happy meals. But a happy meal doesn’t stay with you. That fish you once had, which had a million bones, of which one even pricked you, stays.”