Would it be too much of a cliche to look at the tribulations and the many difficulties of a man’s life to be able to talk about his accomplishments and success in a more poignant manner? If not, would it be too far to contrast multiple rejections from a dream drama school that left him in deep despair, along with the lived reality of being a farmer’s son in a small part of Bihar against the indisputable acting prowess and brilliance of Manoj Bajpayee? <br><br>
Moving beyond rhetorics, however, there exists a phone call made to the actor himself one evening. There were several things that were not ideal about that conversation. Firstly, it was one that was conducted during the national lockdown, with both the interviewee and the interviewer confined to their respective living quarters. And yet, when the conversation began, it was simply a craftsman sharing his experience of having acquired the skills that he has. <br><br>
Be it about his characters in Bhonsle, Sonchiriya, Gali Guleiyan, Aligarh, or any of the others, or about the skill of acting itself, a single conversation with Manoj Bajpayee is more than sufficient to reveal the humility with which the actor approaches his creative process. "It is only after investing years and years of work into acting, that one begins to achieve a little understanding of the craft", says Bajpayee, almost convincing the listener that there isn't an impressive and endless body of work that precedes this comment. <br><br>
Further, on the topic of how demanding his characters can be in his personal life, he adds, "More the hard work as an actor, more the pleasure. This is what actors enjoy the most, we enjoy torturing ourselves and that is the beauty of it." Without romanticising or glorifying the obstacles that an actor often finds themselves faced with, Bajpayee offers a meaningful understanding of the world of film and how actors are located in it. <br><br>
Listen to the whole conversation to find out more!

More on Manoj Bajpayee

Actors Enjoy Torturing Themselves, That's the Beauty of It: Manoj Bajpayee

When sitting down for a chat with the human dynamo that is Sayani Gupta, one cannot, but bring up the relationship of a woman in public light to social media and the internet. Sayani shares some negative, some supportive, and some straight up bizarre anecdotes and stories from her interactions with the digital space. <br><br>
The candid conversation moves from the politics of being a public figure in contemporary times, and gender, a topic one cannot discuss enough, to how she approaches her work projects, and finally a word to all aspirants and dreamers - the importance of hustling. Ebullient and sharply insightful, the actor's openness and honesty is refreshingly uncontrived and devoid of any frills. <br><br> Don't believe us? Give this interview a listen and decide for yourself.



More on Sayani Gupta

Sayani Gupta at Her Candid Best About Life in Lockdown, Acting and Advice for Young Actors

"Truth is multidimensional and no matter how deep you dive, it keeps unfolding", says Adil Hussain when he talks about how he prepares for his characters. Be it a short film or a feature, be it an Indian project or an international one, the quest is always about engaging with the truth. However, acting, cinema and filming is only one part of it, the conversation soon finds itself turning to concerns that are gaining more and more relevance in contemporary times - the environment, lockdown during a pandemic and the indomitable human spirit to constantly push through irrespective of the obstacles thrown our way. <br><br> For the listener who stays till the end, Hussain has a beautiful comment to make about our responsibility to uplift each other, along with the reminder that no matter how difficult things may seem, human beings will always find a way to tell stories and express themselves creatively. <br><br>
Listen to the podcast to find out more!


More on Adil Hussain

Humans Are Highly Creative, They'll Find a Way to Adapt: Adil Hussain on Our 'New Normal'

The moment Shweta Tripathi begins to exchange even the most mundane greetings, you know the conversation is going to be one marked by its energy, effervescence and deeply personal, and hence universal, insights into the life of an actor. From Masaan and Haraamkhor, to The Illegal, Mirzapur and Made in Heaven, Tripathi has always brought sharply moving performances to the screen. <br><br>In this candid chat, she talks about how her personal life and upbringing influence the portrayal of her characters and vice-versa, why she loves working with debut directors, and her experiences in the lockdown that halted all shooting and ensured that actors were confined far, far away from sets or what was once their normal routine. <br><br> Listen to the podcast to find out more!

More on Shweta Tripathi

Mirzapur, Masaan and More: Shweta Tripathi Unpacks Her Most Iconic Roles

On the heels of the The Verdict - State vs Nanavati, one of the latest offerings of the Indian web space, actor Kubbra Sait has lots to share about her character Mamie Ahuja. Along with providing insightful inputs on gender and her location in society as a woman, Sait also talks about how she landed the role of Cuckoo in the Netflix series Sacred Games, working with directors Anurag Kashyap and Shashant Shah, and most recently, co-hosting the closing ceremony at Jio MAMI this year.

<blockquote>When you were offered the role of Cuckoo in Sacred Games, was there ever any hesitation or fear of getting typecasted?</blockquote>

Absolutely none - no apprehensions, restrictions, hesitation or fear. I don't say this because I am some kind of an extraterrestrial human being or special in some way. I'm loving all the joy, the celebration, the recognition around playing a character like Cuckoo. I was playing a human being, my job is to play a character who are human beings. I remember a time ages ago when I wanted to play a cloud, a tree in a play. Why is playing a human being anything out of the ordinary then? 

<br><br>
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/zdv42c0l.png"/><br> <div class="article-img-caption"> Photo Courtesy: Kubbra Sait/Instagram </div>

I had never seen my character this way (getting typecasted) until a conversation last night when I saw it in this light for the first time. We boil everything down to masculinity and femininity, but the point is, these are genders we simply identify with - the soul has no gender. It’s also about appreciating the writer, character, spirit and the fact that a character like Cuckoo is one that has been written for the first time in possibly a hundred years of cinema. So, there can't be a way of typecasting me or stereotyping me for another  hundred years at least.

<h2>When I see headlines like "Is Kubbra Sait a transgender in real life", my question back to them is - and so what? What are you gonna do about it?</h2> 

It's high time people just start accepting people for who they are instead of making such a big deal out of human anatomy. This world needs more acceptance and less judgement. The minute we step in those shoes and start living that life, it would be a better place. 

<blockquote> In terms of the technical aspect, how did you prepare to play Cuckoo? If an aspiring actor is reading this, what would you share with them?</blockquote>

I think I have been preparing to play Cuckoo my whole life because I've always been called a tomb-boy. People have told me things like “don't sit like a guy, don't talk like that, you speak so loudly”...dadada. But that being said, the truth is, I had no time to prepare. <br><br>

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/ODRTDW8l.png"/><br> <div class="article-img-caption"> Photo Courtesy: Kubbra Sait/Instagram </div>

<h2>I was locked for the role four days before the shoot. I was told on the 26th of November and we began shooting on the 30th of November. The revelation scene was shot on the first day. I really had no time to prepare since it was the last scene on the first day itself. After the shoot, I called up Anurag (Kashyap) and asked, "Am I still on the show?"</h2>

<blockquote>As we navigate through different aspects of gender, how do you locate yourself in a patriarchal world? Despite all your success, fame and recognition, do you still feel your worth is sometimes reduced to being married or not?</blockquote>

No, ya, I am so blessed in this aspect. I have a lot of peers and colleagues in the anchoring business who turn around and say, "Kubs, you stuck it through, you did this, you did that" <i>phalana-dhimkana</i>, but to be honest, I don’t think any of it would have been possible if I didn’t have the kind of freedom I got from my mum. <br><br>

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/G7MRuwyl.png"/><br> <div class="article-img-caption"> Photo Courtesy: Kubbra Sait/Instagram </div>

She has stood by me like a champion. She was a different human being before I was twenty one years old. My mother is a different animal altogether. 

<h2>Till I was twenty one, she was the most protective, one of the most prejudiced people suffering from the <i>log-kya-kahenge</i>-syndrome. When I was twenty one, I have no idea what changed inside her, but she took a leap of faith and sent me to Dubai. Three years later when she visited me, both she and I were different human beings. </h2>

My mother has told me since I was twenty one years old, don’t marry because the world wants you married, marry because you have someone you want to spend the rest of your life with. She has never for once told me that marriage is a social structure you need to fit into. I don’t think that is specifically modern thinking, it's just the thinking we need today. 

<h2>It's the most essential thought;  I have never been against the school of marriage, I would love to get married. I think about children these days (laughs). I believe in the whole Shah Rukh-syndrome - there is one person for you - I am that person, I love it. <i>Muje pyaar bhot dafa hua hai, lekin muje shaadi ek baar karni hai</i> (I've fallen in love several times, but I want to get married only once). </h2>

I think I am very excited about the thought of getting married and I really want to get married among my friends and family. But I don’t want to do it because it's a social obligation or because the world wants to see me in a wedding dress. It's not about the wedding, it's about the marriage. I've hosted tonnes of weddings and I've seen them fall apart. I’ve seen enough of them and I think it's such a  social drama. In my wedding, if both the groom and I manage to turn up, that's enough.

<blockquote> Tell us about your character Mamie Ahuja in the upcoming web series The Verdict - State vs Nanavati? </blockquote>

I’m really blessed to have worked with such incredible directors in the last one year. My whole life has turned around in the last one year in the city as opposed to the last eight-nine years I have been here. Anurag is a person who will write everything right there, not give you time to prepare and see the magic unfold in that moment. He would place cameras in the bushes, behind tables, chairs, in really far away places! 

<h2>I remember this one time during the shoot of Sacred Games, I was having a very tough time dancing. I hate dancing and am scared of it. He just came and sat in front me and said, "Just look at me and dance. Let's do this", and he just sat right there, and I had no choice but to dance (laughs). And I did! After that he's like, "Good job, we got the shot. Thanks, bye." And I don't even know where the camera was the whole time. </h2>

Then you have a Shashant Shah, when he met me for the first time, he said, "You have a lot of edginess in you. You speak your mind, you are extremely forthright and vocal about how you feel, and Mamie is exactly the opposite. She holds everything inside her." And I was like, oh my god, that's acting.

<h2>Playing Cuckoo is the easiest thing to happen to me and playing Mamie Ahuja was the hardest. She is not rough around the edges. She has so much brewing inside her. And I think what I learnt from Mamie was forgiveness. I actually went to meditate at the end of it all. </h2>

Mamie Ahuja forgave the man who killed her brother. Her brother was the only living person in the world who mattered to her - as a friend, family, support system, and she forgave the man who killed him. 

<h2>I don’t think that is ordinary strength. Also, I believe that when you are a woman you are born with a powerful instinct and nothing can compete with it. And yet, Mamie exists in a time where she has no choice but to shut the hell up. Even when the story ends, patriarchy exists, and Mamie Ahuja is a human being that learnt to forgive, let go and move on. This is why her place, in the bigger scheme of things, is heightened. More importantly, history doesn’t speak of her. </h2>

All of it together is the most important part of playing Mamie Ahuja for me and I’m so grateful for it. 




<blockquote>You co-hosted the closing ceremony at MAMI, tell us more about that and your relationship with the festival. </blockquote>


This is the first time I'm saying this to any other human being other than Smriti (Kiran) - 2013 was the first time that I was introduced to MAMI when I moved to Mumbai, and I actually hosted the opening ceremony. Can you believe that? <br><br>

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3JsfesAl.png"/><br> <div class="article-img-caption"> Kubbra Sait at the closing ceremony of the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival 2019. (Photo Courtesy: Jio Mami Film Festival/Facebook) </div>

It wasn’t as big as it is today, but for me it was huge. Kamal Haasan was getting the lifetime achievement award from India that year. I think it was the biggest opportunity that had come my way as a host and anchor back then. Some time later, Smriti, Anupama (Chopra) came in and things shifted. I then hosted the red carpet. 

<h2> It was actually at MAMI when Mukkabaaz was being screened that I met THE Anurag Kashyap for the first time and he told me to give an audition the following day. My casting call for Cuckoo happened at MAMI.</h2>


I think to be part of the closing ceremony as the host was the becoming of who I am. I’ve been an actor for a year, but I’ve been an anchor my entire life. There was a time when I aspired to be on that MAMI stage, but I wasn’t an actor and couldn’t be there in that capacity. 

<h2>Finally in 2019, I am an anchor right there, while I am also an actor. It is poetic, yes. The year 2013 is etched in my brain and that is what makes 2019 so special. </h2>

I believe that this world needs more gratitude, and I don’t mean it in the generic sense. We’ve just become so preoccupied with chasing happiness or things we consider important that that we’ve forgotten what we’ve collected on the way. It’s important to wake up and reflect - I have come this far and these are the miracles that have happened to me and only based on this joy can I propel myself forward. <br><br> 

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/XFi4XVel.png"/><br> <div class="article-img-caption"> Kubbra Sait co-hosting the closing ceremony of the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival 2019 with Sayani Gupta. (Photo Courtesy: Jio Mami Film Festival/Instagram) </div>


I don’t think there is any motivator in life greater than success. When I start recognising my success, and I genuinely believe that success is very relative - my success is different from yours and yours is different from your neighbour’s and so on - the minute you start identifying with your own success, you are motivated to be more successful.


Kubbra Sait Opens Up About Playing Cuckoo, The Verdict and More

The predominant portrayal of Pakistanis in Bollywood has been soulless and predictable where they would all be painted in the same pitch black paint. Consequently, when Meghna Gulzar showed Iqbal and Brigadier Syed in <i>Raazi</i> as well-rounded characters with both flaws and attributes, she infused a fresh breath of air in Bollywood. Pakistanis were no longer about being unidimensional, single-faceted characters. They were human beings with all hues of black and white, with emotions and flaws like any of us. 

<blockquote>When we got a chance to ask Gulzar about the inspiration to portray them in this particularly unique and beautiful manner, this is how she responded.</blockquote>

I'll tell you honestly - it was not a conscious decision. My subconscious played a large part in it. I have grown up with a father who was born in pre-partition Pakistan. The way we refer to Pakistan in our household is very different. I have seen contingents of writers, students from Pakistan who have come to visit my father. I have heard of my father's experiences when he visited Pakistan, and my only understanding of this entire exchange and my own experience growing up has been that we are the same. <br><br> It's the politics that creates the divide between us, but as a people there is no divide, and I guess that is what, subconsciously, made me decide on what Iqbal would look like, what his personality would be. He would listen to Jazz music, he wasn't a brute, he wouldn't force himself on his wife, and that's who he was  because I saw Pakistanis in my film as us.

I Saw Pakistanis as Us: Meghna Gulzar on Portrayal of her Characters in Raazi

"If you are seeking perfection, it's scary and mostly unattainable. But if you are chasing the joy of finding the unexpected then it's a far more fun and less nerve-racking process", states Tillotoma Shome. In this conversation about acting and the location of women in media, the actor offers some powerful inputs.

<blockquote>Your character in <i>Qissa</i> was poignant, deep and sharp. Tell us about how you put yourself in a mind-space that allowed you to execute it?</blockquote>
Thank you for feeling that way about the portrayal of Kanwar. I was gently and expertly guided into the process by Anup Singh over a seven month long process.  Externally, I recieved training in kalaripayattu to find a sense of balance, Punjabi classes thrice a week and driving classes. But the main training happened in the inputs Anup gave me over time, to help find the character step by step. <br><br>He warned me against the desire to play a certain kind of 'man'. He asked me instead to focus on the desire to make my father happy. This was freeing, as it took the pressure off me to mimic a certain notion of what a man is like. There is no one kind of man. 
My co-actors were so phenomenal that playing a scene with them was like flying in a galaxy of possibilities as opposed to the rigidity of certainty. Irrfan (Khan), Rasika (Dugal) and Tisca (Chopra) were so generous and so thoughtful that it was a joy to be on that set everyday.<br><br>
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/Z3lgiMxl.png"/><br>
<div class="article-img-caption"> Photo Courtesy: Lucian Hunziker </div>


<blockquote><i>Nayantara's Necklace</i> gave us another brilliant performance by you. How was that character achieved?
</blockquote>

For <i>Nayantara' Necklace </i> I wanted to find her walk and her sense of joy. A sense of joy can eclipse all lacks, perceived or real. Finding an entry point into the character, be it the walk, the voice, a song, really helps me. That one thread leads you to others, if you are lucky.

<blockquote>In your experience, have you seen a change in the gender dynamics of the cinema space? Does the present offer them more freedom now than it did in the past?</blockquote>

There is definitely a greater freedom afforded by online platforms today. But freedom does not guarantee quality and can often just lead to sensationalism. The question of gender dynamics and portrayal of women in Indian cinema is an ongoing discussion that has plagued every generation. That is not surprising as the rate at which women have evolved in the past fifty years across the world is exponential and has outstripped the evolution of men. <br><br>For cinema to represent this change, grapple with it's complexities is a challenging task and will for a while feel like, it's not enough or just scratching the surface. But the good news is that it is fermenting and bubbling up!

More on Tillotama Shome

Don't Chase Perfection, Look for the Unexpected Instead: Tillotama Shome on Acting

The first step is always to know the film or the series we are working on. To read the scripts, watch offlines, listen to the music, speak to the creatives of the show - all of this helps build the world in our heads - the visual and audio themes. Once we feel we are well versed with the world, we're ready to start ideation. 

<blockquote>When We Look at Sacred Games and the Importance of Mandalas (and related symbols), is This Process of Conceptualisation Any Different?</blockquote>

<img src="https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/711170616_1280x720.jpg"/> 
<div class="article-img-caption">A still from the Sacred Games opening sequence.</div>


Our process is always the same for all projects, because it's important to understand what the creators want to say with their work. We don't really like to pick favourites while we're working because you never know how well it will be received by an audience later. <br><br>

The mandala was actually a very integral part of the story, which was evident in the script itself. The individual episode titles were already coined by Varun (Grover) and his team and we felt that they were really well conceived in summation of the episodes. We also wanted the episode titles to get the attention they deserved. 

<h2>Coincidentally, we had just returned from a trip to Leh where we saw a lot of gorgeous Tibetan mandalas and were fascinated by the art form. We knew that the story of Sacred Games was actually several stories within stories that were revealed over the duration of the season, and mandalas use the same storytelling technique. We wanted to depict the same concept in our design as well. </h2> <br>

That's why we decided to make individual mandalas for each episode with a central symbol that represented the title - and each of the symbols from every episode would feature in the main SG logo mandala. This gave us the opportunity to create sixteen unique designs - eight for each season of the show. 

<blockquote>Tell Us About Your Involvement in the Opening Sequence of Made in Heaven?</blockquote>

<img src="https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/771153700_1280x720.jpg"/> 
<div class="article-img-caption">A still from the Made in Heaven opening sequence.</div>


The Made in Heaven title sequence was entirely Excel's baby. The concept was to create a mood montage of wedding films to show the diversity of emotions and cultures within Indian weddings. When we were brought on board, The Wedding Filmer (owned by Vishal Punjabi) had already made an offline edit of some of the best moments they had captured. Our brief was to just give the sequence an aesthetic treatment by giving different looks to all the footage so they look like different events and to design and animate the titles as well as the logo. <br>

<h2>So with the typeface, we decided to go with the kind of romanticised style and colour which you see in wedding films. But of course, we knew that because of the nature of the show, they would want something classy and simple. In an ideal scenario, we would have collaborated with Vishal and his team on the edit as well, but due to scheduling conflicts, it was handled by the creative teams separately. </h2> <br>

Usually, post our first round of creative ideation, we come up with the script and visual themes and mood boards for the sequence - this is where we begin art directing it and "casting" the kind of artists we would like to work with on the specific sequence. This becomes a tedious process, which is why Yashoda (Parthasarthy) and I are very active on social media, constantly watching work that is being produced and interfacing with artists we can collaborate with. 

<blockquote>When Working on a Project, What is the Role of the Artist You are Collaborating With?</blockquote>

The role of the artist is usually to bring in their visual style and flavour to the sequence. We make sure it's always the concept that dictates the art form, and hence the artist. Of course, once we get an artist on board, they are always given a free hand to ideate with us and become as much a part of the process as they wish. 

<h2>In the case of Solo, a Tamil-Malayalam bi-lingual film by Bejoy Nambiar, a main-on-end title sequence we designed. Since we knew the film was about four different avatars of Shiva linked to the four elements of nature, we pitched the idea of creating a sequence that looked like a painting, but dynamically moved like it was all in 3D. Bejoy fell in love with it. </h2> <br>

Once he gave us a go-ahead, we began talking to several artists before we finalised illustrator Vijaykumar Arumugam, colourist Roshan Kurichiyanil and 3D generalist Varun Ramanna as our core members for collaboration. <br><br>

We came up with the symbols that represented each element with Vijay, post which he completed his outlines. They were then inked and coloured by Roshan and passed on to Varun who then created 3D models based on the illustrations. He projected the artwork onto the 3D models as textures and provided them to us. This gave us the ability to attempt dynamic camera movements around the models, while they still looked entirely hand illustrated. We then created the background for each environment in the same 3D space, along with several camera movements in various magnifications. <br><br>

In the case of Smoke, the artists were fluid effects Specialist Goldwin Fonseca and cinematographer Harshvir Oberai. The concept for the sequence was to create a trippy and colourful sequence with puffs of smoke in which you saw the faces of the central protagonists of the show. For this, we decided that the best way to execute the smoke would be to shoot it in slow motion. <br>

<h2>We spent a lot of time researching the best colour combinations of acrylic paints in water and shot them at 1000fps on a Phantom 4K to give us the kind of variants that would have taken an eternity to simulate and render in 3D. Once we finished the shoot, the huge task of compositing the protagonists faces took several trials, but the producers, Hamari Film Company and Eros Now, were very happy with the end results.</h2>

<blockquote>Gustaakh Was Quite a Refreshing and Unique Video. What Role Do You Think VFX Will Come to Play in the Indian Visual Space in the Near Future?</blockquote>

<img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S3Wimxxq7xc/maxresdefault.jpg"/> 
<div class="article-img-caption">A still from Gustaakh.</div>

Thank you! We're pretty kicked about how Gustaakh turned out as well.

<h2>We feel that VFX has come a very long way in the Indian visual space. It's not only the big spectacle films like Bahubali, Padmavat and 2.0 that have flexed VFX muscles, but we're now also seeing Indian writers confidently using VFX as an integral part of storytelling. For example, the rabbit in the beginning of Andhadhun, or the demon Hastar in Tumbbad would never have been penned if we didn't have a solid VFX industry. Indie, dystopian science fiction shows like Leila wouldn't have been possible until the world was built in visual effects. So it's pretty evident that VFX is already emerging as a big part of the Indian cinematic experience and will continue to grow. But under the hood, what's interesting is that a lot of the big ticket Hollywood films have also been in production in India. </h2> <br>

Some of the biggest VFX studios like MPC, DNEG, Digital Doman, Method Studios, Legend and Framestore have tie ups with some of the biggest VFX studios in India as well as their own branches in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. 

<h2>So, Indian VFX artists have worked on some of the biggest Hollywood projects like the DC and Marvel universe movies, the Fast and Furious series, etc. If you look at the end credits of any of the recent Hollywood blockbuster films, you'll find a lot of Indian names. This has exponentially increased in the past five years. </h2> <br>

This will make a big difference in the quality of visual effects in our movies because we now have thousands of super skilled Indian artists who are working with Hollywood supervisors and learning the tricks of the trade from them. Sooner or later, that will start showing in our cinema as well. <br><br>

The reason for the exponential increase has of course been the democratisation of VFX training by the internet. Earlier, the only way to learn visual effects was to join a studio and learn on the job. Now, there are thousands of free and paid tutorials online and several certified institutes that provide training. Technological advancement also has a part to play here - you can pretty much pull off VFX for an entire feature film on a personal computer these days. And with the advancement of motion tracking and augmented reality, you're even able to do realtime VFX on your phone. We have kids taking selfies on Instagram with puppy ears and snouts that track on their faces realtime - that's probably a hint of the future of where VFX is heading. 




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