Sanjay Mishra knows typecasting like none other. After he played Apple Singh, the face of a sports channel, the NSD graduate was more often than not asked to essay the funny man ( Golmaal Returns, Golmaal 3, All The Best and several others). “They call me a comedian. I mean, why? Because I have done a few funnies? I am an actor who can make people laugh and cry and shudder with equal panache. I am very thankful to Rajat (Kapoor, director of Ankhon Dekhi ) for having seen that in me,” says Sanjay on a phone call from Delhi, where his film is enjoying a successful run.
Sanjay says it was during the making of Phas Gaya Re Obama (also by Rajat) that the director told him that he’d write a thought-provoking script for him. “I had said yes to it right then. However, I wasn’t sure it would materialise. But then when Rajat called me to narrate his concept, I was zapped. It’s a big thing for someone to be cast as the lead, isn’t it?” says the actor.
While the concept of the film (about an elderly man deciding that he will believe only what he sees) has received the thumbs up from the audience, it is the superlative casting that has been singled out. Sanjay agrees. “The casting is very good. In fact, when I first watched the movie it was difficult for me to believe that I was Bauji. I could see the film unfold as a third person! Moreover, the theme is very unusual yet identifiable. Every human seems to be living some sort of preset life — 25 years of education, then marriage, then kids, their education, their marriage and then the wait for death. Bauji decides to break this monotony and says it’s good to experiment as you have just one life. Each one of us feels that way,” he says.
After seeing the acceptance of Ankhon Dekhi , Sanjay hopes his directorial debut Pranaam Walekum also sees the light of day soon. “I am certain I have made a good film. Now it’s time to find someone who will take it out there with the same passion as we have made the film. Hopefully this year!” he adds.
