Makrand Deshpande

Whew! It’s been an interesting two hours sitting under tree-shaded granite seating at Prithvi’s. It’s a delight listening to Makrand Deshpande talk about theatre, Bollywood, art films and life in general. Makrand could be defined as a multi-task expert; besides his association with theatre as a playwright, director and actor, he is equally well known and well-loved for his role in films like Swades, Lal Salam, Satya, Makdee, Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, etc., and his frequent appearances on the small screen.

For the past two days I have been pursuing an interview with him. Today I was on the verge of giving up, and my frustrations led me to giving him a bad name on my blog. Until of course my mobile rang at 2 pm. We were all set to meet up by 3 in the afternoon. Prior commitments later made me shift our meeting to 3:30 which I did commit to.

A very casual, serene, laid back Makrand sat there with his trademark unkept curly hair. He is known for his (half colored, half grayed) bushy locks, falling messily over his thin V-shaped face, already covered with a heavy moustache. Makrand was busy talking to his assistant and other theatre friends. Our table was filled with cigarette packets, mouth fresheners and empty tea cups. He immediately invited me over. Upon sitting, I was asked if I would like a drink (soft of course) to which I gently refused. This was my second interview and I was uptight but Makrand, unlike other Bollywood personalities, comes across as a simple, unaffected, down to earth person.

I removed my brand new voice recorder, started explaining a little about blog life and the ball kept rolling from there….

ACTING AND BOLLYWOOD

1. What is the most common approach to acting in Bollywood today? And what is your method?

Charisma of an actor plays a very important part in Bollywood. An actor here needs to be a performer, whereas other side-actors need to perform a bit more in order to get them self noticed. For example Shahrukh Khan, he is a complete performer who has a kind of uniqueness and mad energy in him. People go to watch his movies cause the main hero is Shahrukh…they don’t remember what character he plays, they just remember him. And then you have actors like Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav and Pankaj Kapur who make their characters more famous than themselves. It’s really difficult for big stars, little changes they make and the public might completely reject them. As for me, I carry my own space and histrionics. I don’t get influenced by other actors, big or small time. People say that I have certain uniqueness about me; maybe it’s because of my theatre background. However I don’t consider myself a natural actor. Mahesh Bhatt had once said to me, “Master Makrand Deshpande you will always be working, people have accepted you.”

2. Do you find it frustrating to be type cast as a more serious actor or a comedian because of the roles you have done lately?

In 1996, I starred in a movie called ‘Anth’ as a villain. The movie turned out to be a semi-hit. After that I started getting loads of offers, where I was required to do murder and rape scenes. At that time, I just imagined my future; having posters of myself with blood on my face, going for shoots to do rape scenes…..all this was a major turn off. That’s why I kept low for couple of months and just concentrated on my theatre work. However, yes it is very annoying but at times you don’t have a choice. I needed money in order to keep my love for theatre alive. Then again, I don’t aspire to be a big star in Bollywood….for me it’s only means to earn money.

3. Did you go through any struggle phase in order to get a break in Bollywood?

Have to admit, I have been very lucky when it comes to work. Got my first break in serial, ‘Yes Sir’ during my college days. It was Deepak Tijori who had given me the good news. It was first ever T.V show on college life with mostly all well-known television actors. They needed young guys to play college students; I had auditioned along with thousands of other kids. However the serial was not aired, due to financial reasons. Then ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ came along. The camera man of this movie had seen my work during my college days. He recommended me to Naseer Hussein. Naseerji just asked me one question, “Urdu aati hai?” to which I said that language can never be a barrier for any good performance. And he straight away asked Mr. Mansoor Khan to take me in the film. Once the movie was released, I started getting loads of offers from parallel cinema. And my journey began….

4. Being an actor on the sets, under the captaincy of the director is different from calling the shots as a director and producer in plays. Does the role reversal bother you?

I did a movie called ‘Snip’, with first time director Sunil. He and I are good friends, so used to give him my inputs and suggestions. The comfort level was there…so I did not mind giving in my two bit. But he was the captain all the time. As an actor I do what I am told. At times, if I am working with a newcomer and I feel that he/she is not clear with what they are looking for….then I make an extra effort in letting him/her know what I think would make a scene/character more interesting after that I leave it upon them to make the decision and call the final shots. After all it is the director who knows exactly what he wants from his actor.

5. What is your take on out-an-out commercial masala flicks? Would you consider doing such films as a lead character?

I absolutely love them. But how well I will be able to do such roles; I am not sure. You give me a mad mad film and I will carry it off well. However for masala movies one requires mass-sensitivity, which I think I lack. Previously I have been successful in commercial theatre plays, so who knows; maybe I will be able to do the same in Bollywood movies. The only reservation I have is towards the so-called DVD remakes. I feel there is so much that one has to offer to others, so many stories and experiences to share then why should we rip it off others and present it as ours. I don’t find it acceptable. There have been times when I got calls for certain roles, where instead of giving me the script…they asked me to watch the DVD of the film they were re-making.

6. Which actor and director you would like to work with in the near future?

Sanjay Leela Bansali, I would love to work with him. Only problem is he only takes big stars….but you never know, if he can take Milind Gunaji in Devdas then I also have a small chance. He comes across as a passionate and intense movie-maker and would be a pleasure to work with him. Another director would be Anurag Kayshap; his style is also ‘hatke’. Hmmmm…with actors it would be Hritik Roshan; he comes across as a sincere actor. And with actresses it would be Ashwariya Rai (the grin on his face was hilarious!!!). I even asked Ashutosh to give me a role in his forthcoming film ‘Jodha Akbar’ but he declined saying that I overshadow the character given to me. For instance in ‘Swades’, he had many people come up to him, complaining as to why my character of a ‘fakir’ was given a small part. Would love to work with Rani Mukherjee too, though I was with her in a film ages ago…when Rani was not Rani, so would be nice to work with her now.

7. Any character you wish you had done? Any of the recent movies you wish you were part of?

Lagaan. I was offered a role in this film and they wanted 6 months bulk dates for outdoor shooting but I could not commit to that, so had to let go of the role. Aamir even forced me to take it up but the time factor was too long. And then I saw the movie, it was fantastic. Being a cricket player myself during school and college days, I just loved it. Also when I heard stories from the actors and crew members of their shooting days, it seemed they had a wonderful experience.

8. How would you describe your relationship with director Ram Gopal Verma?

I share a fantastic bond with him. When you meet him you feel as if there is a cinema called ‘Ram Gopal Verma’. He had seen me in ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ and wanted to cast me since then. At that time he was making a flim called ‘Nayak’. I had to undergo an operation at that time, so I wasn’t sure if I could do the film but he was very persistent. So I took up the role, however the movie was scraped later on. Then ‘Satya’ came along. We enjoyed the time spent on the sets. He comes across as a man with different set of ideas and experimental nature however is has a very logical approach to life. He says that he has never seen me upset, angry or jealous in life….and this is what he likes about me.

9. From these films, which one would be closest to you, ‘Makdee’, ‘Lal Salaam’, and ‘Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro’? And why?

I loved doing Makdee cause I had a ball working with kids, plus the director Vishal is a very dear friend. However ‘Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro’ is a very special and important film to me. I had actually auditioned for one of the lead roles but the director had something else in mind for me. While shooting for the film, we were exposed to a completely different side of Mumbai city. Where you can be easily seduced by the night life. We use start shooting at 12.30 pm and finish at 5.30 am, at Chor Bazzar, Dhogri, Bhindi Bazaar, etc. Also Sayeed, our director made us all feel really special…it was easily one of the best times I have ever had.

10. Why do people from theatre move to mainline Hindi films, doing cameos with big stars like SRK like the one you did in Swades?

Money plays an important role here. Plus if you are part of a big production then there it’s sure that you will be noticed. You have more exposure which helps you get more work.

11. Being a Maharashtrian yourself, have you been offered roles in Marathi movies? What difference do you find in the working pattern?

Actually I have already acted in couple of Marathi films and stage plays. But cause of my concentration on Hindi cinema, they at times forget that I even exist. They have some really brilliant actors. The major factor that keeps them behind is monetary funds. Because of this they have loads of limitations when it comes to film quality, sets, costumes, outdoor locations, etc.

12. Do you find Indian television to be more creative and dynamic than Bollywood? How would you compare the working styles?

I feel television can afford to be frank. Plus the varieties of subjects it can offer are also huge, atleast this was the case when I started. Even today in interiors I am remembered as ‘Nando’ a character that I had played in a television serial on DD1. There have been some really good serials in those days. It has surely come a long way now. With respect to working patterns, shooting for television has become really tiring. There are too many dead lines to meet, too many hours involved. During DD days we use to shoot once in 3 or 4 days and now you have to slog practically every day of the week.

13. What do you think of the awards selection in the major award ceremonies? Do you think they are deserving or rigged?

Tell me, even in Oscars, you think they are deserving, where movies like ‘Crash’ and ‘Million Dollar Baby’ get best film award. All award shows have different reasons. You have to please the stars, the sponsors, generate money…plus keep the TRP ratings intact. Even our National Awards are completely genuine. They have to keep all the states happy, so one year a certain state gets bulk awards and then next year another one. Our country is so huge…..it’s hard to keep everyone happy.

14. Your directorial movie ‘Danav’ got rave reviews overseas, however it is yet to be released in Indian theatre. Don’t you find it frustrating?

‘Danav’ was made in 2001; film distributors wouldn’t touch the film saying that nobody would understand the story. Then in 2003, Cannes people came here to review Indian films for their festival. At that time I gave them a VHS of ‘Danav’, cause I couldn’t afford anything better. After a couple of months, I got a call from them saying that they loved my film and wanted it to be a part of the festival. It was the only movie they had selected 4 months in advance before the actual selection process had begun. They asked me why I didn’t go to Panorama Productions and I said that I did go to them but they rejected my film. But later cause of the film print quality, I withdrew my film from the festival. Later on, I made my second film ‘Hanan’ which was also rejected by Panorama Productions. Then Sahara Films took it up….but now only they know the future of its release. It does make you angry and very upset but there is nothing much I can do about it.

FORTHCOMING FILMS

15. Can you tell us something on your new and forthcoming films? Is any role that you are really excited about performing?

‘Darna Zaroori Hai’ is a good film. And talks are on for new projects; hopefully something good will come out of them.

INTERNATIONAL SCENE AND RECENT TRENDS

16. What’s your take on Bollywood’s acceptance in the International circuit?

When I look at films like ‘Crash’ and ‘Million Dollar Baby’ they remind me of Bollywood films. I feel Bollywood was always accepted overseas…it’s just that now days you have big names involved. Most of these guys are already well known here and now they are making their mark overseas, so it feels as if the entire Bollywood is being accepted.

17. How would you define ‘crossover cinema’?

There are loads of advantages now. You can get crew, cameraman, etc. from overseas to shoot a film. However I doubt if any of the Indian movie makers have actually understood the term ‘crossover cinema’. Thanks to multiplex cinemas, this term has become an in-thing in the industry. But if you actually look at it, you will notice that all the known ‘crossover’ movies have been directed by Indians who are based abroad. Example, Mira Nair, Gurinder Chaddha, etc.

THEATRE AND PLAYBACK SINGING

18. How much theatre in general and Prithvi theatre in particular contributed to your understanding of acting?

Completely. Except my initial days in theatre. Been a part of Prithiv for nearly 16 years now. Today I am an actor, director, writer all because of my time spent here.

19. How did you make the transition into this field?

I was given admission in N. M. College because of my sports merits. One day while strolling in the college, I heard noises coming from a close-by room. My senior told me that rehearsals for a college play were going on in there…and they needed a guy who could speak in Marathi. So basically I was forced by him to act in that play. They found me to be confident on stage and that way I was given a role in another play. I acted in Marathi, Hindi and Gujrati college plays for inter-college competitions. And by the time I passed from college, I had become a dramatist.

20. Obviously theatre and cinema are vastly different. What specific changes do you make in your acting when switching platforms?

See the basic difference is that in movies you have the camera watching you all the time. A lot is needed to be done to make yourself understood by the audience, loads of facial expressions are necessary. Where as in theatre the audience is watching you from far, so relatively more full body movement is necessary because only full frame is visible by the audience. You need a good voice, so that even the person on last row is able to understand you. Once you have a bit of experience in both form of art, then change happens gradually.

21. Don’t you find it difficult playing the role of a playwright, director and actor all at one time?

It does get very tiring but I love it. For me everything has its purpose. Even though all these roles are very demanding I completely enjoy them. And now it’s more of a habit….so I am not complaining.

22. Your plays are often described as flight of fantasy or bizarre. What’s your take on this?

The fact is that I live in a fantasy world of my own. I love to dream, as a matter of fact it doesn’t take me much to dream and then act on them. For me life and art go hand in hand and maybe that’s why my work is considered surreal.

23. What’s your stance on Indian theatre current scenario?

Nowadays theatre is becoming more and more expensive. Publicity is also very expensive. Plus corporate sponsors also play an important part. We have to make plays that suits their target audience rather than what we actually want to make. Thankfully I don’t have such issues, since I don’t need to rely on them for my production. Money I earn from movies is used in my love for theatre. And then I have a wonderful and dedicated group working with me.

24. Among the theatre audiences from around India, which appreciate theatre the most?

In Mumbai I am taken for granted, they have this faith in me that they will always enjoy my work. Delhi also has a very good audience and so is Jaipur.

25. What is your all time favorite play?

Favorite plays would be ‘Ek Kadum Aage’, which I am currently working on. And from my previous productions would be ‘Kasturi’.

26. Is the satisfaction obtained from doing a Hindi film same as that from doing theatre?

No. No way. To me Bollywood helps only materialistically. But the joy one feels doing a stage play in front of live audience….the whole evening of interaction is simply mind-blowing.

27. Other than acting and directing, you are also known for playback singing. How did this come about?

No re, I am not a singer. I do it because they feel that I can sing. They think I have a good music sense, thanks to my stage plays. Maybe it’s my Sufi nature.

OTHER INTERESTS

28. How do you spend your free time, when not busy with theatre or movies?

Free time means sitting somewhere, thinking….dreaming. Meeting people, catching up with old times. Or just sitting at Prithivs. At times watch movies at the cinemas. I just love making most of my space.

29. Who was the first actor you ever idolised, maybe as a child?

As a kid it was always Amitabh Bachchan. I remember getting into fights with others if they would critize his work….even if it was a crappy film. I just could not handle it. Then after joining theatre I realized the true value of Naseerhaudin Shah. From the other side, I only like Robert Dinero.

A recluse is the perfect way to describe Makrand. He is a good actor who thoroughly enjoys his work, but completely lacks focus. The projects he takes on depend on his frame of mind and mood swings. He is unaffected by the fame and glitterati that Bollywood has to offer. Living each day as it comes…always content with whatever life has to offer. This is a rare scene in ‘our’ Bollywood circuit, where most stars are out to make money and gain materialistic fame, here is an actor who uses his skills only for his self-satisfaction. I am impressed by Makrand’s attitude.

But the highlight of the evening was to get free premier tickets of his upcoming play ‘Ek kadam aage’ at Prithvi.

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