What Made you say yes to a series like potluck. Tell us a bit about your character?
Basically, many things we were over there right in the beginning, like the fact that Kunal Dasgupta had come back into the industry, and he was spearheading, and the fact that this was a kind of series which has not been done at all, which is a slick urban comedy. Because normally people ignore the upper-class urban demographic and the fact that it was going to be really excellent cast with an excellent director and that it was going to be a very… kind of a sophisticated community with with no major drama and melodrama. That is really exciting to do, something that is close to our hearts and what we know alive. So that was very exciting. I have not been offered such a thing before, so I was very keen to try. I love comedy. I really, really love comedy. And I really like showcasing my comedic talents. Very rarely do I get to do that. So that was a major draw. All these four-five factors got me to be a part of Potluck on SonyLIV.
Again, as an actor, apart from the script and the makers, what are the other things that you keep in mind before you say yes to a project?
Script, script, script. For me, it’s the script, it’s the writing and that is the main thing. And then, of course, the other is peripheral, like the remuneration or the director, who is the showrunner, who is the producer? Of course, they have to have a good reputation and they have to be tried and tested mostly. And yeah, I think every actor basically looks for a good script. Well, written and the kind of atmosphere getting into is very important, which is spending so much time, 20, 30, 40 days. It really can make or break. Especially in this series, the chemistry was so fantastic. Half of us knew each other from before, and so chemistry was amazing. Seven, eight of us. So, I think that has really come through, if I’m not mistaken.
How easy/difficult do you think will it be for an actor like you, who has been part of film and TV industries, and with the advent of OTT platforms, how do you see all these industries, probably finally blending into this one big industry?
Well, actually, we’re seeing it for the last two years, aren’t we? We’re seeing that even big film stars are doing, like Said and Nawazuddin, and all these people are already doing, you know. I don’t think most people, most actors like me, don’t have a choice. Actually, if I am offered a good film script, I will do a good film. If I get a good television, which is highly unlikely today. But in the past I’ve done many hit TV series. But now what’s happening is everyone is rushing to OTT with their talent. And there’s a lot of talent in this country, a lot of writing talent. So, I guess people are really excited. And so, what’s happening is we are all gravitating towards OTT, and OTT has the ability to be large, like large scale with fabulous panoramic landscapes. And you can also do like a more like a soap, close up kind of format. So, OTT gives you that kind of scope. So, everyone’s gravitating to OTT, whether it’s a theatre actor or a film actor or television. I do all three. And all the work is on OTT. Now who knows how long it will last.
