Rinky Kumar (DNA; November 20, 2018)

After making his big-screen debut as the menacing terrorist in Neerja (2016), this year, Jim Sarbh has impressed moviegoers with his villainous acts in Padmaavat and Sanju. However, the success of his films hasn’t prompted the curly-haired actor to focus only on cinema. Apart from his current project — the web series Smoke — he’s gearing up for a play, Constellations, which premieres next week and marks the opening of the National Centre for Performing Arts’ theatre season. The production, which starred Jake Gyllenhaal as the male lead in its Broadway version, is about one love story but infinite possibilities. Jim will also be seen in another web series and a few international films. In a chat with After Hrs, he talks about not being restricted to just one medium and why he wants to take a step back to  assess his choices…

Apart from films and plays, you are also acting in web series now...
Of course, everyone is making them these days. Its quality also ranges just like that of cinema and theatre. It’s interesting to be able to choose from this wide spectrum of possibilities.

In Smoke, you share screen space with actors like Kalki Koechlin and Gulshan Devaiah…
Yes, I have worked with Kalki in quite a few plays. Sadly, in the show, I don’t have too many scenes with her or Gullu (Gulshan). But it was fun to be in Goa with them and hear their stories as well as share mine because in the series, all of us have different tracks that don’t intersect immediately.

How has it been working with prolific directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rajkumar Hirani so early in your career?
It’s been great. I couldn’t believe my luck that I got a chance to work with them so soon after Neerja. I am grateful to be part of films that did so well this year. I hope to be able to work with them again and continue to collaborate with directors who are at the top of their game for all the right reasons.

How does working with directors like them influence you as an actor?
Every director is instructive, whether good or bad. Even the worst of them is crucial because you learn how to safeguard your performance while working with someone like that. I have learnt to be a self-directed actor as much as I can. And when you meet the people who can really see your limitations and skill set, it’s a bonus. I believe, as an actor, you need to be a bit of an anarchist to keep trying and sailing in order to succeed.

What interesting things did you learnt from actors like Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor?
I feel that you have to come with your best game, no matter who your co-star is. I understand that they are huge stars, but part of the fun of acting is that we are all there for our respective characters. It can be crippling for actors to think in terms of stars vs newcomers when, in fact, you just work on the scene. I am like, ‘Let me do my best part and I hope that you are here to do yours.’ Both (Ranveer and Ranbir) are lovely guys, but it wasn’t about them.

Has the success of Sanju and Padmaavat translated into more offers for you in Bollywood?
Yes, it has. But now I’m taking a step back and waiting for a script that I am 100 per cent psyched to do, which I don’t have to accept simply because it’s a big film or because I need to have a release every year.

What are your future projects?
This year, I have acted in two English films — Beneath A Sea Of Lights, which features Barkhad Abdi (of Captain Phillips fame) and Michael Winterbottom’s The Wedding Guest starring Dev Patel and Radhika Apte. There are a bunch of short films, too. Recently, I also shot for Prateek Kuhad’s music video titled Cold/Mess, which releases next month. My other web series, Made In Heaven, which is directed by Nitya Mehra, Zoya Akhtar, Alankrita Srivastava and Prashant Nair, will be streamed in March.

Which has been your favourite character?
I don’t have favourites. It’s like asking which of your ex-girlfriends you liked the most. You loved all of them (laughs).

What appealed to you about Constellations?
I told myself that I should do this play because Jake Gyllenhaal is one of my favourite actors. I read the script and liked it. I went for the audition and enjoyed the exercises that director Bruce Guthrie made us do. The story is about two people and the possibilities of their relationship. Bruce has worked on the show before, so he brings all of his experiences to the table. He has an eye for detail.

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; October 27, 2018)

Kalki Koechlin is synonymous with unconventional roles and content-driven films, be it Margarita with a Straw, A Death In A Gunj, Waiting or That Girl In Yellow Boots. Not just films, even when it comes to theatre, the actress has done intense plays like Colour Blind, One Flea Spare and Far Away. After appearing in a couple of videos like The Printing Machine and it’s Your Fault, in which she addressed women’s issues, the Dev D actress will be seen in the web series Smoke, which deals with the dark underbelly of Goa. Here, Kalki talks about her series, upcoming film Gully Boy and the #MeToo Movement that has taken the country by storm.

Is Smoke your first web series?
I had done a small guest appearance in Man’s World, but this is my first chunky role in a web series. I want to be a part of the digital world because it is growing at an immense rate, especially, in India where it was pretty untapped. At the same time, you have to choose carefully because once you are in a web series, you could be committed for a long time. It might have a second or third season, so you have to think of it as a long-term project.

What are the challenges when it comes to shooting for a web series?
You shoot over a longer period of time like 10-11 hours in a day. So, the character graph is larger and you need to know it very well. In a web series, you shoot the climax first and then the beginning... it’s all over the place. Everything depends on the availability of the actors. So, you have to know how you are going to play the character before you start shooting. In movies, especially the independent smaller ones, we film at one go from start to end. Sometimes we do shoot non-chronologically, but we are in that world for one month. Whereas, while shooting for a web series, you are in between different things.

What prompted you to take up Smoke?
The fact that it shows different aspects of Goa. Usually, it is shown as a holiday destination, but Smoke presents not just its holidaying and clubbing vibe, it also shows the dark side — like the mafia that runs the system, circulates the drugs, the narcotics who are fighting it and the politicians who are trying to take advantage of the situation. These elements coming together in one show appealed to me.

You play a DJ in it?
Yes, a Portuguese DJ. I had a teacher who helped me perfect the accent and learn a bit of the language. I had to research on DJs and I based my character on DJ Alison Wonderland (also an Australian singer). As for my character, she is a passionate girl, who loves her music. But she is caught up in the mafia world and she struggles for her freedom.

In most of your films, you play such complex characters. Is that deliberate?
I think any character that’s humane has complexities. You can even play a light-hearted character with complexities, not just dark characters. I get offered more dark characters than comic ones. I would love to do more comic roles, but complexity is a human trait. Somebody who is just good or just bad is unrealistic. They are a product of their situations, surroundings and daily struggles. That’s what makes the character humane and when you do that, you are a good actor. I try to do that to my best.

Any films in the pipeline?
I finished shooting Gully Boy with Zoya Akhtar. I play a music producer in it. She is the one who produces a song with the rappers from Dharavi and one of them happens to be Ranveer Singh’s character.

You will be seen in the commercial space after a long time since Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara...
Yes, it’s about what comes your way. I have been busy working, but sometimes you get more films in the indie scene and less of commercial movies. There have been times I have been doing only theatre. As an actor, I feel I have been blessed to be flexible between different genres. All I want is to do diverse roles, but yes, I would love to do more comedies and romcoms, but as long as I am not repeating myself every time, and doing stuff where I am pushing my barriers, it’s good.

You have always been vocal about issues that concern women. What is your take on the #MeToo Movement?
#MeToo is helping us become much more aware of sexual harassment. I am hoping it will result in a cleaner and equal work environment. It’s also important that we see each and each every case go through its due process in terms of the investigative agencies, the lawyers, the ICC (Internal Complaints Committee), etc. looking into it. It’s important to let them do their work before making a blanket judgement on everyone because each one has committed a crime of different degree and deserves a different punishment. #MeToo is a brilliant thing that has happened in terms of the social media movement, in terms of reaching most workplaces far beyond our industry and that is really heartening. It shows the lasting impact that this will have. At the same time, a long-term effect will take time to establish. We need sensitising workshops in our places of work. We need an outside body to be there for such complaints.