We do a double check when we hear that Sanjay Mishra, popular as the babuji in Rajat Kapoor’s Aankhon Dekhi , is making his Telugu debut in Surender Reddy’s Kick 2 . “Yes, I am a part of Kick 2 and I am proud of what I’ve done for the film,” says Mishra.
Sometime last year, Surender Reddy met Mishra at his residence in Mumbai. Mishra was surprised at the offer and a tad reluctant to accept it. “I didn’t know this young man (Surender) who came to me saying he is a director. He told me that actor Ravi Teja insisted I be a part of the sequel to Kick . I was apprehensive of doing a film in a language I didn’t know. As an actor, I need to understand my lines thoroughly to be able to emote. He assured me that I will have help,” recalls Mishra. Sanjay Mishra, an alumnus of National School of Drama, has had a long innings as an actor with television series Chanakya , the comedy show Office Office , comic roles in a string of films including the Golmaal series and All the Best , before he won critical appreciation for his role in Aankhon Dekhi.
Aankhon Dekhi was a game changer for him and soon he was signed for Yash Raj’s production Dum Laga Ke Haisha . “You should also watch out for my performance in Masaan ,” Mishra tells us.
Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan , screened at the recent Cannes International Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, won plenty of laurels for the film and its maker, and is slated to release in India on July 24. “I am from Benaras and Neeraj shot this film in the city. It was an emotional journey for me,” says Mishra.
Mishra is clear he will continue to do mainstream potboilers and the niche ones.
“I am an entertainer and my job is to entertain. Cinema is my bread and butter. Films like Golmaal series are like T20 matches where an actor has to score for every ball. I am also acting in Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale with Shah Rukh Khan, the Salman Khan film Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Grand Masti sequel. All these are T20 matches. Alongside, I like doing films like Masaan which are like test matches. Just like a cricketer who tries to be good at tests and T20s, as actor I try to entertainer the audience through different genres,” he says.
He places Kick 2 in the T20 section and says he rehearsed his Telugu lines with his two assistants. “I play a mukhiya of a gaon and my portions were shot in Jaisalmer, Hampi and Hyderabad. I even finished dubbing for about 75 per cent of my role. Being able to speak my lines in Telugu gave me a ‘kick’,” he laughs. Those who work closely with Mishra know of his mobile kitchen that travels with him for shoots. “I love to cook. In Hampi I made chicken curry and rice with the permission of the hotel in which I was staying,” he says. In Hyderabad, though, there was little use for his mobile kitchen. “The city has such good food, I didn’t have to cook. Surender, who calls me ‘fakir baba’, made sure I was treated to great food in Hyderabad,” he says.
Kick 2 is just the beginning. We’ll get to see more of Mishra in Telugu cinema. “I have also signed Kona Venkat’s Shankarabharanam ,” Mishra says.
