Having signed just his second film in four years, Vivaan Shah, son of Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, wants to take things slow in the show business. Admitting that acting was never part of his plan for life, he says that he has grown to love all aspects of the job he now calls a lifelong commitment.
On the promotional tour for his forthcoming Happy New Year, we get a few minutes with the actor.
There’s been a three-year gap afterSaat Khoon Maaf. Was this intentional?
Yes. I was 21 and studying in St. Stephen’s College, New Delhi, doing a BA during Saat Khoon Maaf . But I wanted to transfer to a History (Hons) course, so I moved to Jai Hind College in Mumbai. So in this gap, I finished college and did some work in theatre. I also completed Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet, which will release in May next year.
As a young actor just getting started, do you have a choice on the kind of films that come your way?
Not really. You can’t really have much choice and I think luck has a great deal to do with the roles you’re offered. I’d like to believe I got my roles on merit, but I know my family and my surname have got something to do with it. I am more privileged and I have been very lucky to get these films.
Acting is in your blood. Were you into acting even before cinema happened?
We keep doing a lot of theatre. In fact, my family has a theatre company called Motley and we have three to four theatre productions going on all the time. I’m involved with all activities, including acting and backstage work like organisation, production, and writing, and I’m in love with the medium.
How has working on a big film likeHappy New Yearbeen?
It has been great fun apart from being a learning experience. Quite an eye-opener, as it’s only now that I’m getting to see how the promotional side of cinema works. Promotions for Saat Khoon Maaf were limited to three or four events, but this has so much more. Learning how the media operates has also been something new.
Did you have to learn how to dance for this film?
Yes, I did and who better to learn from than the best in the business. Farah had called me to audition for the film and at that point, I didn’t even know it was a Shah Rukh starrer. I didn’t know what the film was about either but I went ahead and did my best.
Dancing is something I picked up along the way and I think everybody is capable of dancing. It’s in everybody’s DNA. It’s an expression of joy and that’s what the film is about. It’s about the world’s worst dancers competing for the World Dance Championship representing Team India. That in itself is a paradox. There’s some irony out there, some humour and a message.
Did you ever plan to act in mainstream cinema?
I never wanted to get into this industry. I always wanted to act in plays but not in movies. Acting in mainstream cinema is a lifelong commitment and I was more inclined towards academics. It was perhaps my six years in boarding school that made me want to base my profession around my education. But after Saat Khoon Maaf , I wanted to study filmmaking. I don’t think acting can be taught; I have the greatest teachers at home. I wanted to learn filmmaking but acting in Happy New Year has been so enriching that I’ve realised you have to put to use everything you’ve learnt in life and education, much like any other profession. The experience was nothing short of a film school education. So I’ll enjoy my stay here.
