Ashish Vidyarthi - Interview

Interview

Says Aashish, "I was born and brought up in Delhi, am working in Mumbai, keep travelling to Hyderabad, and now to Chennai for my work. Some may call me rootless, but I've established my roots everywhere." Aashish describes how he got his first break with Vinod Chopra, in his 1942 - A Love Story. "I went to meet him at his place and he asked me to perform something for him. I did, but he was pre-occupied, attending to calls, etc. But at one point he suddenly stopped all the calls and kept watching me. And when I finished he said, 'You know, you're as good as me!' He gave me a minuscule role in his film, and along with it he gave me the hope and confidence that I can make it in Mumbai. Then I performed for Mahesh Bhat and he gave me Najayaz. In Govind Nihalini's Drohakal I was pitted against the mighty Om Puri."

Aashish considers his best performance to be in Drohakal. "I never went to meet Nihalani. So I was pleasantly surprised when he suddenly called me and said he had a role for me. If I can name a person who is responsible for what I am today, it is Nihalani. It was a powerful role, and it kind of made me. Sudhir Mishra's Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin was another film where I got an excellent role. I started concentrating on mainstream cinema and have done about 45 Hindi films, four of them with Amitabh Bachchan."

On his experience with Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah, Aashish says, "Om Puri is such a caring person. He would call me home everyday. I used to park my bike at his place and travel with him in his car to the studio. He would want to rehearse the lines with me on the way. It was such a kind gesture on his part, so that I won't be over-awed by him. They may be small things, but they matter a lot to a newcomer like me. During Najayaz I had to jump from a high-rise building. Refusing a dupe I did it, all excited. Then Naseer Bhai told me, 'Listen, this is just to show the height of the building. The camera will be placed right down and you won't even be seen. Next time, don't take such risks.' That was another lesson."

About his entry into Tamil cinema Aashish confesses that Tamil cinema has been his passion for a long time. "I had seen Mani Ratnam's films. The Tamil film industry has a lot of young invigorating talent, and I'm an actor waiting to be challenged. A 3-month start-to-finish film is unimaginable in Mumbai. There is going to be continuity in terms of my character. In director Dharani's 'Dil' I play a wicked cop called 'encounter Shanker'. My make-up takes at least 1½ - hours to put on. The patch under my left eye hurts and even when I'm out of my make-up, my left eyelid forgets to bat. But the joy of performing with a good unit and with sensitive artistes like Vikram and Nasser is compensation enough.

Among the directors he would like to work with are the usual names like Shanker and Mani Ratnam, and a surprise in S.J. Surya. "I have seen Surya's 'Vaali' and I was really impressed. I would like to be challenged by a director like him. Since destiny has brought me to the South, I intend to do more Tamil films," says Aashish. And what does the actor do when he's not shooting? "Life is not meant to feel lonely. I don't carry any extra baggage, just because I am an actor. Piloo, my wife, complains about my work schedule. And when I do get to finally take her out to dinner, midway I stop and say, 'Hey shall we call some friends too?' Earlier Piloo used to get quite irritated, but now she enjoys it too. After work that's how my life is. I don't attend any film parties. But I do meet directors when I'm not working. I'm a professional worker for hire."

The person Aashish would like to emulate in real life is actor Nasser. Says he, "Dil is the third project I'm doing with Nasser. His love for cinema and passion for the theatre is astonishing. So is his magnanimity and humility. After achieving so much in the South he's still so down to earth. He has re-enforced my belief that actors need not walk tall with their nose up in the air. This profession gives me the chance to meet such rare people. We actors tend to forget that being a good human being is more important than acting well. I want to evolve into something more, enrich my life and those of others too. That is why it is so important to treat this profession as just a profession, and not as an alter ego of oneself. Because it can be a very lonely profession and can tempt one to lose touch with reality".