If acting is about cleverly camouflaging your real self, Gulshan Grover has been doing it for decades. The Delhi boy, who grew up in humble surroundings before making inroads in the flashy world with characters that could send a chill down the spine, was at The Hindu office recently to talk about how the image of badman has impacted his life and the demise and possible resurrection of larger than life villain. Grover, who loves to call himself an international actor, predicts that the first international star from India would be a female actor.
Excerpts:
What are your memories of Delhi
Delhi gave me an adventurous spirit, the ability to dabble into the unknown.
We lived in Tri Nagar and when I joined Delhi University, I had to walk seven kilometres to get to Sarai Rohilla and from there I used to take a bus to Kamla Nagar. Inthe campus, I was seen as a small town person.
So you were an outsider in Delhi
Yes, in the sense that we had come for outside. Our house was in the midst of fields. The exposure in Delhi University with people from different cultural and economic background, scared me into thinking that I do not know anything. Despite having distinction in different subjects, I realised being good in one aspect was not enough. Delhi laid the foundation that I became courageous enough to go to Bombay, a city I had seen only in films. The odds were stacked against me as I did not look like a conventional actor. I was an average guy with extraordinary determination. I have the distinction of studying in Shri Ram College of Commerce and becoming an actor starting off with roles which were completely evil.
Why such roles?
While training at Roshan Taneja’s acting school where Anil Kapoor and Mazhar Khan were my batch mates, I realised that I have sacrificed a lot to become an actor and instead of waiting to becoming a hero, I should accept villainous characters because an actor’s shelf life is not very long. I was very good at negative roles thanks to my eyes and persona.
Gulshan Grover
Initially, you played some implosive characters
If you have talent, hard work and faith in God, you can create your path and destiny. I felt the presentation of villains had become clichéd. I realised the existing villains were huge with bulging muscles, they wore shirts with buttons open and a gold locket around their neck and tight fitting trousers. I had decided it was not appearance but screen presence which depicts villainy. When the camera will roll then I will show my talent. I was able to do this so well that other villains in the film would be keen to know what I would do! The aim was to show how an average person can transform into a great villain.
One role which made you feel that you have arrived.
That did not happen in my case. Every role which I enacted was a step in forward direction but was not a leap. Some of the films which made great impact include Avtaar where I am the bad son, in Sadma, where I had no dialogues but would give a scary look. Films like Soni Mahiwal where I played the main villain. Then Ram Lakhan introduced me as Bad Man and suddenly I had arrived. Film like Sir established a different eccentricity of my villainy which made my Bad Man look very simple. Films like Shola Aur Shabnam defined that how a villain can be emotional
Actor Gulshan Grover at The Hindu, New Delhi
There was a lot of competition among villains also.
There was tremendous competition among villains. If there were 10 established villains then there were 1000 aspiring villains with better bodies and personalities.
It is believed that personal life of villains was affected as people took their screen persona seriously.
My parents were affected because when they would visit a religious place or social gathering, people would say, ‘kya aap ka ladka koi aur kaam nahin kar sakta tha. What is this: shouting, fighting and teasing girls.’
It was more so in my case since I was very studious and obedient child. I used to go with mother to gurudwara and would touch feet of all the elders. My mother used to say, “hamara bachha aisa nahin tha, Bambai walon ne bigaad diya.” Like in Avatar, they could not believe that I had ditched my parents, of course, on screen! But this did not just happen with me, it happens with all the villains. Like during a celebration, people would take it for granted that I would be an alcoholic. They would ask whether I will have it with soda or water. When I would tell them I did not drink, they felt I was joking. When a girl passed by, they would expect me to pass a remark. When I didn’t indulge in all this, they were very disappointed and wonder what a vegetarian person I was!
How did you manage to keep your sanity in check?
I was always clear that I am acting this part and I am not this part. If nothing else, playing a bad character the whole day has a cleansing effect and when you get out of the character you feel greatly relieved. It was far more challenging for me because I was so meek and I still am. Even while sitting among friends I would be the first one to offer chair to others.
Was there critical analysis of the actions of screen villains?
No, at that time, they all had almost complete acceptability as Ravan and were treated as a part and parcel of the story.
Why did the larger than life villains vanish from screen
They vanished because society at large has changed. Villains have changed forms. Now normal people turn out to be villains. The neighbourhood vegetable vendor could be a villain. The faces have changed. Those who look fearsome have now become watchmen or bouncers. They have assumed the role of protectors. Now you find that a very average looking person turns out to be notorious.
Secondly, the story telling has changed. People do not like to wait till the last reel for the villain to be caught and punished. Now an idea or circumstances — when you are betrothed to someone yet you love someone else — are the villain. Villain need not be a person any more, it could be the thought process of the protagonist.
Unlike others, you changed gears early with films like “Bawandar”
When my friend Jag Mundhra offered me the villain, I refused. I asked for the Rahul Khanna’s role as I felt he looked too polished. I felt Bhanwari should meet someone rustic, someone with rough edges but Jagmohan refused. Then I said I will play the lawyer. In that role too people expected me to use the usual heavy baritone with clichés like, ‘Your Honour, yeh jo masoom chehra aap dekh rahe hain...”. I refused to speak like this. The sound recordist said he could not hear the real Gulshan Grover but I insisted on keeping it soft, and it worked as the character was much appreciated.
However, the image of Bad Man hasn’t left you...
I too do not want to let it go because Bad Man is not only my second name, it has also given me proud moments. There is a not single popular character on which a full film has been made. The web film Badman directed by Soumik Sen and in which I am the hero is the first film named after a character. You do not have films like Lakhan or Angry Young Man even though these are iconic characters.
But now Bad Man is meme material...
Like somebody is named as Pinky or Sandy, and he turns out to be completely macho! Names can be deceptive.
Is there a disconnect between what people want and the kind of cinema which is being made?
It is there, and that is the reason why more than 90 per cent of the films flop. The kind of adulation we still get from people is amazing. People still request me to say lines like ‘Maya teri to palat doonga main kaya.’ The filmmakers are not able to understand how to translate adulation into making people watch films in theatres.
You mean audiences want to return to hero, heroine and villain days.
If you see, nostalgia is in, people are going back to old films, old songs and old fashion. So there is a need and some of the old stuff was truly fantastic . Sometimes, people do not want to just listen to old songs but also its remix in a new style. So there is a need for blending and mixing. Like it has been done in my forthcoming film Behen Hogi Teri where I am playing an old school villain but director Anthony D’Souza has placed the character in a contemporary situation.
You did some international films. How do you see the recent spurt in interest of Hollywood in Indian talent?
I am the first commercial cinema actor to make a transition from Bollywood to Hollywood. Those days they did not accept Indian actors because they had no exposure to commercial Indian films. I am very happy that the Indian presence has been strengthened by capable actors like Irrfan, Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Anupam Kher and it is only going to be better. First, it will be actresses who will make it big. It will not be a male star who will make it as a lead. It is like we accept Jacqueline Fernandez from Sri Lanka as the heroine but the male star has to be from here. I am not attaching motives, it is just that commerce does not allow. They too are not being unfair to us. How many Americans will come to watch a Hollywood film in which Shah Rukh Khan is the lead? But a film with a Western male lead and an Indian actress is doable.
Tell us about your upcoming projects
I am playing a Kashmiri extremist in I am not a Terrorist, a Malaysian film. I am also doing an Iranian film called Hello Mumbai . I have completed a Canadian film The Future Generation and I will also be seen in an American film, Forbidden .
