Cinema is to Piyush Mishra what manual labour is to a mason a livelihood. His heart, however, is in theatre. “Cinema never became my passion. I am not somebody who is mad for cinema,” he says, adding, “But, actors should do theatre only when they have earned enough money.”
Despite the reluctance, Mishra, who has reprised his role in the third season of the courtroom drama Illegal, has a three-decade-long film career with over 40 projects to boast of, with the most popular ones being Maqbool, Rockstar, Gangs of Wasseypur, Gulal, Pink and Tamasha.
Talking about the latest season of the show co-starring Neha Sharma, Akshay Oberoi, Satyadeep Mishra and Neil Bhoopalam, he says, “When you get such a pivotal role, you can’t refuse it. It is a show with a lot of twists. The incidents are inspired by real events, and this season has no dull moments.”
“I had been telling the director to give my otherwise manipulative character a moment to cry, and bring in a little vulnerability... That has been done in the new season. It has given more depth to the character,” he added.
Born and raised in Gwalior, Mishra was drawn to theatre and writing when he was a teenager. “I used to read a lot of literary works in Hindi and Urdu. Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi, Harivansh Rai Bachchan… I had read it all when I was very young.
I don’t know how, but I used to create a lot of stories,” says Mishra. Soon after, he moved to Delhi, and following his graduation from the National School of Drama (NSD), the actor started his career as a thespian. He launched the theatre group Act One, where he collaborated with other artistes such as Manoj Bajpayee, Gajraj Rao and Ashish Vidyarthi.
Mishra describes Delhi theatre, the period between 1983 and 2003, as the best phase of his career—one during which he was at his creative best. “I enjoy doing performances where there is live interaction,” he says. Why then did he choose the screen over the stage? Mishra responds honestly, “Big money, of course. Those days, I was barely earning anything, and money makes you adjust to everything.
During my time, there was a lot of excitement about bringing kranti, social revolution and fundamental change in society. But you can’t ignore money. Leftists keep telling others to not run after money, but end up doing exactly that.” Money brought him to Mumbai. After a brief stint in television—Rajdhani directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, Shyam Benegal’s Bharat Ek Khoj, and horror television serial Kile ka Rahasya—he made his debut as an actor with Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se, in 1998.
Mishra is a man of many talents. Besides being an actor, he is also a singer, composer, lyricist, screenwriter and playwright. During his time in Delhi, he wrote and directed several plays, including the acclaimed Gagan Damama Bajiyo (The Sky Resounds with the Call to Arms), based on revolutionary Bhagat Singh. His transition from playwright to screenwriter happened when he wrote the dialogues for Rajkumar Santoshi’s 2001 film The Legend of Bhagat Singh followed by Ghajini, Agneepath and Shamshera among others. He further went on to establish a career as a film lyricist, screenwriter and as actor. He started writing lyrics with the film Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar, and subsequently wrote for Black Friday, Aaja Nachle, Tashan, Gangs of Wasseypur and many more.
At 61, Mishra continues to harbour dreams of adding more feathers to his already-decorated cap. Acting in cinema may not have been his passion, but direction could be. “Had I been a maker it would have been my passion. It would be premature to say that I will turn to direction, but let’s see,” he says. Never say never.
from Hindi https://ift.tt/IxqlBOp
via IFTTT
