Kay Kay Menon is rarely seen or heard. In his only release last year, The Ghazi Attack , ironically the action took place in a submarine, giving him even less scope to rise to the surface. The actor admits he is not good at blowing his own trumpet, and only recently surfaced on social media to promote his upcoming film Vodka Diaries . “Social media is a double-edged sword. People who don’t have the wherewithal to spend money on promotions, for them social media is an inexpensive way of doing it,” he says. “But it has to be used judiciously,” he says.
Directed by debutant Kushal Shrivastava, the thriller Vodka Diaries is set in Manali where ACP Ashwini Dixit (Menon) is investigating a few murders that take place in a nightclub. Featuring Mandira Bedi, and Sharib Hashmi, Menon says there was no vodka involved in the shooting of the film. “I don’t drink per se,” he says. “Drink is not the only way to keep things warm in the cold.”
Menon’s non-sequiturs further deepen the mystery around his new film. “Primarily what happens in a whodunit caper is that once you know the plot then it’s done. This is a story about human emotions and the suspense-thriller element is a part of the plot,” he says.
Cop-out situation
But has he not played the role of a cop repeatedly in films such as Saat Uchakkey (2016), Rahasya (2015), and Udhyayam NH4 (2013)? “I don’t play roles, I play people. To exemplify, if I am playing Mahesh, the cop and Suresh, the cop, then I am playing Mahesh and Suresh, and not the cop. It is evident and imperative that the two can’t be the same people,” he says. Menon upstages typecasting by investing in the psyche of the characters. “Which is why when I am playing Rakesh Maria, then am playing Maria, who happens to be the commissioner of police in Black Friday (2004). Likewise, I am playing Ashwini Dixit in Vodka Diaries , who happens to be an ACP, and both have a different personality to flesh out as a cop.”
Menon started his journey in films by playing a rogue in Naseem (1995). It was the role of a young man who goes astray in a climate fuelled by communal tension between Hindus and Muslims living in Mumbai preceding the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. With a background in theatre, and working with Naseeruddin Shah in the play Mahatma Vs Gandhi , which toured across the world, Menon was able to set some early acting goals with clarity and vision. “There are a few mottos I followed right from the beginning. My work should outlive me. I have been fortunate that in the 50-60 odd films I have done, about 15-16 of them have met that criteria. Which is about 1/10th, it is pretty good and on par with say what Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando have achieved. That fact that 10% of your work can outlive you is a good deal,” he says.
Known for playing intense characters in Anurag Kashyap’s films ( Paanch, Black Friday, Gulaal, Bombay Velvet ), Menon’s oeuvre hardly ever allows him to let his hair down. The occasional comedic part such as in Saat Uchakkey, Bheja Fry 2 (2011), and Sankat City (2009), have been too few and far apart. Is he choosy about his choice of roles? “No, I can choose from whatever I am given, but that’s not plenty. When I began, one of my principles in life was that when I step out of my house, I don’t need a background score,” he says. “I have lived my life exactly as I wanted to which is why I am very happy about everything I do.”
Method acting
Menon explains his approach to genre when choosing a film script. “I don’t think of genre, only at storytelling when I am reading a film script. I also listen to the director’s inputs. It is very subjective why I choose a certain kind of film. If the people in the stories attract me, I will take it up,” he emphasises.
Menon has a method to his acting that defines his style. He says, “I am an impressionistic actor. You come out of the theatre feeling you know the person I have portrayed. Which is why, I will not be known for my dialogue, I will be known for my overall performance. People will not recall me by a certain dialogue.” He is not averse to the opposite style, which can be found in abundance both in Bollywood and in Hollywood. “Actors like Clark Gable and Cary Grant, were dialogue actors,” he says. “I have done a lot of mainstream movies where I did the expressionist form of acting with a lot of suave and verve. It is not very difficult to do, you just have to triple your ego and you can achieve it.”
It has been 23 years since Menon’s debut. He has played a range of characters, including the enviable role of the Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto in Kali Salwar (2002). Is there a dream role Menon wants to bring to the big screen? “I always keep my dreams and my roles separate. Aspiration can get you into a space that is frustrating. I believe every role has its destiny, every film has its own destiny, and when the two meet, just embrace it,” he says, never forgetting the number of performances that have flown under the radar in the 60-odd films he has done so far. “I have had my fair share of being an actor who is unnoticed.”
Language barrier
Born in Kerala, and raised in Mumbai, Menon has taken fewer strides in regional cinema for an actor of his calibre. What is stopping him? “My condition of working in regional films is that I will speak in Hindi, or English. For the simple reason that people who approach me do it after seeing me in Hindi films. Now if the language is taken away, if I am supposed to search for it or fumble with it, or mouth the lines that I am taught by an assistant, then I am of no use. Why are you taking me?” he says, adding that the advantage he has an actor is in the two languages he speaks fluently.
“My expertise lies in improvisations, in the facility of language, so whether it is The Ghazi Attack , or whether it is a film in Tamil, I do my lines in Hindi. For The Ghazi Attack I told them that I can masterfully move my lips in a way that you can dub it in any language you want to, and apparently my dub by a Telugu professor turned out to be the best. My co-actor Rana Daggubati [confirmed] the same.” The Ghazi Attack was shot in Hindi and Telugu, and dubbed into Tamil.
When the acting offers are not pouring in, between trying to use social media, playing tennis and badminton, and reading books, Menon says he lives his life sip-by-sip. “I live life each day as it goes by,” he shares. Of course there is no vodka in his tonic water.
