“My brother is ill and I was worried about it. I have just wrapped up a shoot so I thought of spending time with my family,” says Sanjai Mishra as he settles for a conversation at his residence in Vaishali, Ghaziabad. The unsung hero of many blockbusters is finally getting his due with meaty roles being offered to him. “I have worked in some good films and now there is a responsibility to perform better,” says Mishra as he sips his tea. With a spark in his eyes, the actor is capable of bringing credibility to whatever role he plays. And playing a protagonist, he says, is like winning a game. “Tell me one actor who is not a character,” he questions the labelling of actors in Hindi film industry. “A lot of time has gone into making people aware that I am more than just a character artist. I want to do work that will define me. I have gone through every kind of highs and lows; I know life better and it helps in my performances,” reflects 54-year-old actor. “Though I hate the tag of being underrated, still I fear to be overrated, as there will not be any challenges for me then, and I do not want that.”
Mishra loves imbuing his characters with eccentricities. “Q. Q. Qureshi from Bunty Aur Babli pushed me to a level where I shared the screen with a star like Rani Mukerji. After that I did a series of characters which became popular with people. People still don’t know me by my name. They call me by the name of my characters like Babli Bhai from Golmaal . That is a positive sign.” He asserts that blurring of the rigid divide character actors and a conventional protagonist is a healthy change for the industry. “We never took out time to know about the lives of so-called character actors like Kader Khan, Asrani, Tinu Anand and many others as we were too much obsessed with stars. In that way, we have not celebrated cinema as we should have,” remarks the actor who has recently wrapped up Hardik Mehta’s Kamyaab .
For him, the credit goes to new stories and story tellers that are changing the industry. “In a film like Talvar , where you have a real-life situation, you cannot have superstars. The makers have to look for faces which you watch in your daily life,” analyses Mishra.
Surely, he is now an important cog in his films, as he proved as an old Hedu in Kadvi Hawa and as a lecherous Vice Chancellor in Anaarkali of Aarah but it is the truth seeking character of Aankhon Dekhi that remains closest to him. He has a story to share to about the film. “I started belonging to a school of thought which does films for earning as I never thought of myself as someone who can act in such intelligent films. Those who make such films do not respect masala films. But there are people like Rajat Kapoor who are observing you amidst all this. When I was shooting for Phas Gaye Re Obama with him, he told me ‘tumhare liye kuchh likh raha hoon’ (I am writing something for you). I was awestruck. After ten days, he still had the same idea with him. I realised that he is serious,” relates Mishra.
It was surprising for him for by then Mishra had become used to “bechare ko dekho” kind of response from his peers as he was not getting the desired response for his small but eye-catching performances. “It was a line I used to hear many times, which actually worked in favour of me, as I used to motivate myself through that. When I came to Mumbai, television industry was flourishing which helped me financially. I had a diary which Raj Babbar gave me. It had addresses of all the production houses and I used to roam without thinking much.”
Birth of a character
His powerful portrayal of Everyman has won over audiences across the spectrum. He knows a large section of audience can identify with him. “It gives me comfort because I am a normal person with normal sensibilities, problems and pressures. I don’t have to make an effort to look normal on screen,” chuckles Mishra.
His training in theatre helps him in maintaining the equanimity and filling different shades in this common man. “I did not start acting by doing it but I learnt it by watching my Drama school seniors such as Pankaj Kapur, Piyush Mishra, Tigmanshu Dhulia and Irfan Khan. When I perform, I get the reaction instantly from the production crew, which is my small audience,” reflects the National School of Drama alumnus. He insists that a film takes shape when the director communicates his vision to the actor. “I do not usually read my scripts as I rely on the director’s vision. If a director is able to show what he has in his mind, a large part of actor’s work is done. Then it is up to the actor’s craft as to how he executes it with his techniques. When both actor and director are on the same page, they become collaborators in the birth of a film.”
When he was growing up, he preferred cinema over any other creative forms. “I used to have a Canon A1 still camera with which I used to click a lot. I still remember watching Sai Paranjpye’s Sparsh , Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali and Ustad Vilayat Khan’s music was very dear to me as my father was fond of classics,” recalls Mishra. “I was very much aware of the visual language which helped me in acting. I always discuss colours, lens, mise-en-scene and lighting with camerapersons.”
Sense of humour
For every other film, he has developed a certain new way to entertain people as humour comes naturally to him. He has the ability to laugh on himself and perhaps that reflects in the quirkiness of characters that he plays. Though it has given him recognition, Mishra is against any sort of typecasting. “These roles came to me by chance and there was no effort from my side. Humour is something you can relate to because it goes with the stereotypes and biases that you carry or watch around you. You cannot create it, you can only pick it by experience. And one can find it in every situation, even death. I am not happy with the present trend of artificial gag-based humour as it does not live for long,” laments Mishra.
With fame came advisors. “I do not know when I became Sanjay sir from Sanju. Many people asked me to hire a PR agency. I knew I am not a hero material but I did not know what I could do with this face. I am happy now with what I have.” He wants to remain a regular guy, connected with the grassroots. “I can travel by train, meet anyone on the road and go wherever I can. This is my stardom. I am like this and I want to die like this. I always watch myself from a third angle, and introspect,” Mishra trails off like my of his endearing characters.
