In an exclusive conversation with Cutting Shots, actor-producer Aashiesh Sharma reflects upon his journey in showbiz, talks about his absence from television as an actor and even busts a myth about the industry.
More than a decade ago, Aashiesh Sharrma first caught everyone’s attention as the rustic Avdesh Singh in Imagine TV’s Gunahon Ka Devta. “It was destiny,” the actor tells me, reminiscing how his robust small screen debut brought him into limelight. What follows next is a series of heartfelt, candid revelations that prove his unwavering love for art and his craft.
Excerpts from our exclusive tête-à-tête with the actor-
Q. You were involved in dramatics and theatre during your growing years. In one of your interviews, you shared that you had participated in a reality show in your college in Rajasthan and while you couldn’t make it to the Mumbai round, you had people walking up to you and telling you that you deserved to win. According to you, that was a moment of revelation where you felt that if you could move them with your performance, you should continue on this path. Back then, how did your close ones react when you told them that you planned to pursue acting?
A. I have always been close to my family. Though I have a huge family, I would always discuss the things that I wanted to do with my parents. So, the first thing that I did was I told my father about it. Coincidentally, he was walking with me when that incident happened. He witnessed everything that happened there (at the event).
That same night when I came back, I thought about it a lot and then in the morning, I shared with my father that I wanted to take up acting as a profession. I told him that I was serious about it and that I needed to go to Mumbai to be an actor. He advised me that if I was thinking about taking it up as a profession, then I should treat it as a serious profession and not go there being just awestruck. He asked me to study this profession. That’s when I joined acting courses at Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares.
My father had this approach about life that whatever you do, you need to take seriously and be professional about it. That approach helped me and is still helping me in life. Usually, people come here to become stars. They are enamored by glamour and don’t understand that there’s a lot that goes behind. There’s a lot of serious work that you need to put in to even reach to that point. But, the approach of taking it up as a serious profession is what prepares and conditions you to go about that journey in a very nice and professional way.
Q. For any actor, the waiting period is quite a crucial period before he/she lands his first break. There are nerve-wracking auditions, struggle to survive in a tough city like Mumbai if you don’t hail from here; everything just tests your patience. At the same time, you also need to keep that spark alive in you. What were the struggles that you had to overcome when you began your acting journey?
A. Yes, it takes time to crack that first audition. But, if you have chosen that path yourself, it’s not a struggle anymore. It’s that journey. Everybody has to go to through that journey and enjoy that. Milestones will come and go. There will be both, good and bad days. It’s all part and parcel of that journey. Even in hindsight, I never felt it as a struggle. I enjoyed that whole process. I enjoyed being clueless and not knowing where to go and which door to crack (laughs). It was fun to find that door.
When I came to Mumbai, landing an audition was a task itself, forget about getting selected in an audition! Now, there is a lot of difference. Back then, we didn’t know where to go for auditions and which door to knock. That was fun, to find how to go about it. You enjoy that process because you have that spark alive in you. If you find it difficult to keep that spark alive, then maybe it’s not what you are meant for. You shouldn’t be thinking, ‘Oh, how do I keep my spark alive.’ The spark is there. That’s the reason why you are doing this. It shouldn’t be the other way around.
Q. You made your acting debut with Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD) which was helmed by Dibakar Banerjee, who already had two National Awards (for Khosla Ka Ghosla! and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!) to his credit by then. LSD was a very hatke film back then. Of course, now we see a lot of content on those lines. Also, it was a film that was shot entirely on digital camera. What did your debut experience teach you that you continue to carry with you even today?
A. I think it’s the whole process, how Dibakar as a maker approached the whole thing which had a very long-lasting impact on me. Like you said, he had two National Awards. Both the films were critically and commercially successful. But they were different films in their own right. Then, LSD was again a very novel and path-breaking kind of cinema at that time. The whole cast was new. There was me, Nushrratt (Nushrratt Bharrucha), Anshuman (Anshuman Jha), Raj (Rajkummar Rao). All of us were debutants. We all hailed from some acting schools. It was a mix and match of just good talents. Nobody was a big name. Only the director was a huge thing at that point of time.
From his point of view, he was taking a huge risk. Any director who has given one successful film would run behind stars. But here, we had somebody who still wanted to do a film with newcomers. He wanted to tell a story irrespective of who is in it and he was so compelled to tell that story in his own way. That had a very long lasting impact on me that if you are confident about what you want to do and have conviction in it then everything falls into place and you don’t have to stick to formulaic things. You need to have that kind of clarity and approach to tell a story irrespective of whether you are an actor or a maker.
So, that whole process was an actor-friendly one because it was enjoyable. Earlier, there were no concept of acting workshops. But we did that. So, he started that long back. Ten days prior shooting, you would bring all the actors on the same page and everybody knew what they were going to do for the next 20-25 days. From ADs to the actors, everybody knew the shooting schedule and what they were going to do.
Now, that process has become popular in the last couple of years. Every actor including the biggest stars undergo acting workshops according to the projects they take up. But, that is what I have followed throughout my career. Irrespective of whether others did or not, I would always make sure to take out some time to prepare myself before doing anything. I would do that in television as well. I used to do workshops and would insist on doing reading sessions with other actors. I have always done mock shoots before any TV show. I still carry that process even now.
Q. After a debut with an acclaimed film like LSD, most actors would have continued to explore work on the big screen. But, you chose to step into television with a rustic show like Gunahon Ka Devta- a love story against the backdrop of violence. It turned out to be an important milestone in your career. This was way back in 2010-2011 when you had the female-oriented daily soaps ruling the charts. What gave you that confidence to take such a gutsy move?
A. With LSD and whatever I was doing, it was about breaking the barrier or the ceiling. If I tell you the simple reason, it was all about how do I get noticed. That’s your first struggle or the first point that you want to make sure as an actor. So, how do I get noticed in this huge crowd here? Back then, there were very less movies being made with new actors. Even if they would get work, it would be those secondary roles.
Nobody was there to launch me, let’s put in that way. People who come from outside are just selected for roles; they don’t get launched here. There is a huge difference. So, it’s only the insiders or the kids who belong to film fraternity who get launched because they have that privilege. Nothing against them but that’s how it is. Outsiders don’t have that kind of a backing. So, how do I get noticed in that crowd?
It was just destiny that this show (Gunahon Ka Devta) came to me. When it was offered to me, it sounded very interesting but I was reluctant to take it up. A director friend of mine who had directed me in a feature earlier which couldn’t release because of some reasons, had recommended my name to the channel head. I completely give the credit of this show to that channel head who managed to convince me (laughs).
I had no idea about how television functions. There I was sitting in front of the channel head which I think only 0.1% actors get a chance to do. It was all destiny. I still remember I was running a high fever that day. He told me about how that director friend of mine had informed him about my reluctance to do the show. I told him that the medium wasn’t the issue, it’s just that the process that I knew and the stories that were being told on television, I couldn’t see myself fitting into that. So, he said, “If I give a story for you and allot you enough time to prepare, would you take it up?” I said, “Fine,” and asked him the story. He told me two words, “It’s Othello in heartland UP.” I immediately told him that I was doing it.
So, his take on it was very clear and he liked the fact that I was talking about these things. That is what made me choose Gunahon Ka Devta at that point of time. It propelled me into the limelight and helped me to get noticed. If you do something like this then you get a good launch just like how a big actor would get in films with respect to the commercial and marketing aspect of it. So, it puts you in front. At that point of time, I just wanted to get noticed as an actor.
Q. If I take a quick look at your body of work, post Gunahon Ka Devta, you did a historical drama (Chandragupt Maurya), fiction (Rang Rasiya), took up a dance reality show (Jhalak Dikhlaja), hosted a radio show (Tujhse Naaraz Nahin Zindagi), featured in Siya Ke Ram followed by Prithvi Vallabh. In short, you didn’t confine yourself to one genre. Sometime back, you said that the medium of television got exhausted for you and that’s why you turned your attention back to films. Was it difficult for you to turn down the lucrative TV offers that must have come your way and take a path which was appealing but unpredictable? How does an industry take it when an actor turns down an offer citing it doesn’t sound exciting to him/her?
A. It’s a mix of lot of things. What gives me strength or let’s say how I say no to things is what I wanted to achieve in life- the power to say no. And like you said, the body of work I had in television, I had to say no to a lot of things to say yes to the right things back then also.
When offers come, they come from all corners. You get all kinds of stories and you have to choose from them. So, let’s say you have to say no to 99 things to say yes to that one thing. I was always a very headstrong person in that way. Also, I had a very distinct clarity about what I want to do and what I don’t. I believe there are two things which matter a lot. First is clarity of where you want to be and second is having your wants and needs in control. At times, people say yes to a lot of things because their needs and wants in life are way too much. They have to do a lot of things to fulfil them. So, I kept that under check to keep my creative saturation incompletely filled.
TV is lucrative both commercially and popularity wise. It keeps you constantly in the eye and gives you a lot of money. It has everything. But at the end of the day, you ask a simple question- What are you here for? And if you have an answer to that then it becomes easy to say no to things. Thankfully, I am married to a girl who completely understands this and has the same thought process. So, there are no issues there too that I have to earn to give her something in life (laughs). She is pretty much capable of taking care of her own things. She is also very similar in those ways. We both come from a very humble middle-class background. We both know what it is to chase behind your dreams and how you need to do it. The dream is not a big car or a big house or a luxurious life. The dream is something else and we see it together. So then, it becomes easier to choose what you say no or yes to.
Q. After making that organic shift back into films, you chose to tell a story like Khejdi. You said that some of your close friends warned you against playing a transgender saying it would destroy your career. But that only gave you a stronger urge to get it right. Do you feel it is important for an actor to push against the tide in order to grow in that space?
A. Not sometimes but always. You always have to push against the tide. Let’s say there are 10000 actors. How many do you know and how many do you remember when you are asked to think about actors? You have a handful right in front of you. Why? There is a reason for that- because they have pushed against the tide. They felt that how do you not be a part of a bulk of so many talented people around. How do you stand out?
So, as an actor or any creative person, until and unless you are constantly challenging, how would you grow? One has to constantly keep evolving. The first step to take is to challenge yourself. But you know you have done it. Fine. Now what? Would you be repeating it or putting yourself in a position where you are pushed to try something new or have to push the envelope? When you are clueless, you start finding ways to do it. So, I like to keep myself in that position where I am like, now what and it should scare me to death.
Today, if you tell me to stand there and play Ram, I can do it. But I don’t want to do it again. I can play Chandragupta Maurya and I have done it. Now what? There might be differences in the stories being made. But it should scare me initially that, ‘Okay, now I am in a middle of something that I don’t know how to sell. Now, what? So, let’s find that out.’ That’s the fun of it and that’s when you start enjoying it. That’s the spark, that’s what gives you the energy and that’s what keeps you in the game where you are constantly evolving.
See, I am in the business of entertainment. If I keep giving them the same thing again and again, how many times will they spent money to watch it? As an audience, you want a new story and new characters on screen. I am the same person coming in front of you day in and day out. How long will you bear me? I have to give you something new. My audience should feel that every time I come on screen, I bring a surprise for them. Only then will they enjoy it. That’s the interaction between the audience and an actor. So, as an actor, you have to push against the tide and if you are not doing it, then it’s time to pack your bags and go back home.
Q. You also explored the OTT platform with Umesh Shukla’s web series (Modi: Journey Of A Common Man). Today, you have more and more actors getting into the digital space because you get to cater to a global audience and it also doesn’t require the actor to invest as much time as for films and TV. But my observation is that somewhere even this medium is now slowly getting saturated and turning into a dumping ground with some half-hearted content at times. What’s your take on that?
A. Yes, it is getting saturated. You have good content coming in bits and pieces. But, maximum things are like you said, it has become more of a dumping ground. Bigger names and makers are dumping things which make no sense. It’s like OTT is a big thing, let’s spend some money there. It’s saddening to see that because this medium had immense potential to tell stories which are path-breaking. The medium allows you that but still people ain’t exploring that freedom on OTT. Adding cuss words and bold scenes is not what this medium is just about. These things don’t last.
I think every medium goes through this and a new burst of life comes in. Right now, it’s also because there are a lot of other things in the market. The media circuit is saturated right now. There is a lot of volatile things happening there. Things are at a standstill in the market. So, it’s fine and it happens everywhere. That’s why we thought we should start creating things on our own for the same reason.
The offers that I was getting on OTT were also pretty much the same. The parts weren’t exciting me. Firstly, why should I abuse in a show when there is no need. It shouldn’t be added just for effect. So, that’s when I decided to try and create stories on my own. I decided to explore this medium in a different way where we can tell the kind of stories that should be told and which will have a greater impact.
There are some good stories like Gullak, Panchayat happening and these have been accepted by the audience with open arms. These are clean, good family stories. So, that’s the kind of space that we wanted to explore. Now, we have already shot one series which is currently in post-production. It’s a very slice-of-life family entertainer with a sweet urban love story. It has a very good soul and its heart in its place. Basically, we are trying to bring our stories, our morals and values to the next generation and the best way to do that is through stories.
Q. You have always been vocal about your interest in direction. You once mentioned that even when you used to shoot as an actor on television, you would have conversations with the director to get better understanding of the shooting technicalities. Do you believe those exchanges came handy when you directed Cash Kaand?
A. Of course, it did. Directing needs experience. It’s just that nothing else. It was years of me being on the sets exploring filmmaking on whole. It’s not just that on sets I was doing it. Off sets, I was reading, learning, taking some online classes to enhance my skills. I was doing a lot of those stuffs. And like the approach we spoke about before, if you want to do anything, it has to be studied. You have to learn it and go about it seriously. It shouldn’t be like, ‘chalo, yeh bhi kar lete hain.’ It’s just that if you want to do it, you have to learn it properly. At least try to get the basics right and then work on it. So, that was the whole thing.
Creating things from scratch always excited me. I really enjoy that process. It’s not that I want to see myself. I am not narcissistic that way (laughs). I just enjoy the process of being with the team, creating new things and getting things done. That whole pressure really excites me. That chaos of creating is what gives me a lot of peace.
It is very chaotic when you create something new. More than stories, it is about people and dealing with them. So, it was a very natural progression for me. Again, like before, many people told me that it would destroy your career. People would advise and say, “Oh if you start directing then directors would be wary of casting you. They will think that you will interfere in their business.” But people who have worked with me know me very well. I think over the years, I have worked with a lot of people and they understand that the way I work, I sit with the director. It just gives me a overview of things and that’s about it. Nothing else. So, you advise me against it then I will go and do it (laughs).
Q. Did being an actor yourself helped you when you went behind the camera?
A. Oh absolutely. It’s actually vice-versa. It used to help me way being as an actor because I was constantly learning, updating and honing myself. I used to approach the story in my head as a director on my own. As an actor, it’s very human to concentrate only on your part when you are given the story. But, you are not the story, you are a part of the story. So, if I understand the story in totality, I will understand the nuances and how to go about it as an actor.
Now it’s the director’s job to tell me that you concentrate on your part but I need it in this particular way in totality. So, I approached it in that way and went on the sets. They could communicate with me as an actor because they could understand the story in totality and it was easier for me to communicate with my director. It became easier for everyone around as well. So, if as an actor, I am aware of my mark and lights which technically should be taken care of by the director and the cinematographer, it helps them to save time and perform behind in a better way because I am complimenting to their vision. It’s vice-versa.
Similarly if I am behind the camera, it becomes easier for me to explain an actor. Before going on floors, I know that all my actors are different. I know their cracks, how to communicate with them and their strengths and weaknesses. I also know their headspace and what could trigger them. So, it’s a very wholesome process.
Q. You have your own production house (Rachayita Films) under which you directed Cash Kaand. Also, you and your wife Archana Taide are into script-writing. Would we ever see you developing content for TV since that’s the place which made you an established name?
A. Yes, we are developing content for television and hopefully soon, a couple of things will be out. We are already in the process of developing a few stories for TV. We are trying to tell stories which are dear to us and which we think, we can tell the best.
Q. What about you marking your return on television as an actor?
A. Not anytime soon. Like I said earlier also, I have explored pretty much everything on that medium. There’s nothing new that it has to offer or I have to offer to it. I don’t think I can add anything more to the medium. I see myself more of making things for the medium than being a part of it as an actor. There’s a whole new world that has opened up altogether for me as an actor and there are so many stories that I want to be a part of. I would rather explore that.
Q. Coincidentally a few weeks back, I spoke to your ‘Gunahon Ka Devta’ co-star Nivedita Bhattacharya. We are discussing the lack of creativity that continues to persist on television. During our conversation, she told me that one cannot blame the audience because they are conditioned in that way. According to her, one needs to give time to new content. What happens now is even if you have good content, it needs to give good TRP on the go or otherwise the show ends up getting axed. What’s your take on that?
A. Absolutely, she is right on that and I completely agree with her. I think today, everybody wants fast things. People watch content on 2X. I was amazed thinking what’s wrong with these people. But then, one has to pace with this audience and generation rather than cribbing about it. That’s the new way of world. You have to adjust and find a way around it. Maybe, it will just take time to adjust to these things.
We are just shifting and are now in that transitional phase where people are adjusting to the new choices. The world is changing over rapidly. So, it becomes very difficult for long-formats (long format shows) to sustain that way.
Television is a medium which directly enters your bedrooms. You don’t need to go outside and buy tickets. So, it’s that influential and its reach is that huge, but at the end of the day, it’s longer format. Longer formats need time. It’s habitual viewing and it takes time to create that habit. Right now, we lose our patience before that happens. But now, the medium is also adjusting to our new ways. It’s just a matter of time when the makers will find their voice and the audience will also find their taste. I think, it will be a pretty much good happy marriage.
Q. When you started your journey, social media was not a big thing. It wasn’t as powerful as it is now. Today, you often hear actors talking about visibility and how one needs to be visible on social media to bag projects. Do you think an actor needs to be active on social media?
A. Personally, I don’t think so. Alas, we are in this world where the media has become social media. Everyone feels it’s essential to be on social media. But I think it’s a personal choice. I don’t like being much visible. I am a very private person with what I am with Archana. At home, if she wants to hire me (under their production banner), hire me for my talent, I will bring my 100 percent. Apart from that if she wants to do marketing around me then, I am always available for that.
Back then, when we didn’t have social media, marketing would happen. I think today, people are going back to the old ways of marketing. Like, look at the kind of marketing Shah Rukh Khan did for Jawan. He didn’t give a single interview. He just released the songs and played out the release dates. And that’s how it was done in the 90s. There was no social media back then. It was just print and electronic. He went back to that and it really worked wonderfully. That’s the best way of doing things because see, if you are watching me free on your phone, why would watch something where you will have to pay and see me.
So, there’s a space for everything. People on social media, whether they are creators or influencers, have their own space and that’s fine. Every 10 years, a new thing comes in and finds its own space which is wonderful. But I think they (actors) should stick to acting and to their talent. You should do what your marketing team tells you do to and then go back home and get back to work. Other than that, dancing on trending songs doesn’t have to do anything to acting.
Q. Lastly, if you had to bust one myth about this industry, what would that be?
A. That people coming from outside help outsiders. They don’t. They want to be the insiders so desperately that they forget that they are outsiders.
