Actor Divyenndu Sharma plays the role of a struggling stand-up comedian, Vishal in Amazon mini TV's short film 1800 Life. In an interview with Firstpost, he tells how FTII prepared him for the parallel films, but not for the typical Bollywood movies. During his initial days in cinema, he found himself in a full-blown commercial movie setup, so he had to unlearn a lot of things. He soon realised that this is not what he wanted to do. It was Mirzapur that brought about a change in his life and that’s how he became a part of the OTT movement which he found to be merit-based and a democratic medium. Excerpts from the interview:
How is the treatment of short films different from feature films?
The process remains the same. I would rather call it challenging because you have less time to tell a story. The basic ingredient is the same as in the process is similar to making a feature film. But a short film is like a quick snack. And what actors can do is make it into a healthy snack.
In a feature film, you have a lot of time for the character to develop and like a lot of side stories come in, but that’s not the case with short films because of the limited time that is given to send across a message.
On being a part of short films.
I have done a lot of short films at the beginning of my career and when I was studying in Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), there too we did a few short films. For me, performing in short films is like being on the playground where you don’t need to bother too much about the rules of the game. You just need to go out on the sets and express yourself. The only limitation is the time. You don’t have to think of a proper beginning, middle and an end. You can totally play with the narrative and the cinematic language. There are not many commercial liabilities when it comes to short films. They are mostly done for artistic value of the creator and those who are a part of it. It’s something you just go and enjoy yourself.
Do you think that during the pandemic, making and watching short film culture really picked up?
I do enjoy watching short films and many filmmakers and actors started making short films during the pandemic mostly because it doesn’t require large-scale production to make a short. You can make it with the help of a few friends. Pandemic also has introduced us to a very different aspect of life. So, a lot of people felt this urge to express themselves through short films. It was quite nice to see people doing short films sometimes even from the comfort of their homes. The budget also is much less and most of the time there isn't any budget at all. There are times one friend gets a camera and actors come for free. It’s just for the fun of it. So, it is a very collective effort and artistic too.
On playing the role of a stand-up comedian…
The stand-up comedian aspect of the character that I am playing. You don’t really see it in the story. It is just there in the backdrop of the story. The journey of any artist is very similar. The character that am playing wants validation from his audience, family and peers. As an artist, I can relate to that situation. Because I tend to question myself about my abilities from time to time. I often ask myself if I am really good, how do people perceive me as an actor. I tried to make my character as human and as vulnerable as possible.
How has your journey been in the entertainment industry?
It’s been quite eventful. I started off in Delhi as a theatre actor, then went to FTII. I always thought that I was going to be a part of those parallel films. Then suddenly my first film Pyar Ka Punchnama was a commercial hit. And I found myself in a full-blown commercial setup. I worked with David Dhawan and that time I had to unlearn a lot of things because he has a very different cinematic language. After doing a couple of films, I was very fortunate that I got success early. But I realised doing the same type of commercial film will limit me as an actor and I was also not quite happy because I obviously wanted to show the world my craft. I wanted to experience different characters and show the other side to the audience.
I said no to a lot of work during that time because I felt I was not growing as a craftsman. Then ‘Mirzapur’ happened and it was through OTT that I felt my craft was being appreciated. I was a part of this whole OTT movement which I found to be merit-based. You don’t really rely on numbers here. It is quite democratic as a medium. I am really happy being here and I am enjoying the space thoroughly.
How being passed out from a film school been helpful to you in your acting career?
Once you join the Hindi film industry you have to unlearn whatever you have learned in a film school. Thankfully, the scene has changed quite a bit. Going to a film school is not only about learning acting. You come out of it as a cinema student. In a film school, you learn the importance of other departments like an editor, a camera person, a director, and a writer and it makes you a wholesome artist and you understand that each and every department has its own contribution to making a project good. That awareness is there that on a set everybody is important, not just the actor. I learned the discipline of filmmaking from a film school.
from Firstpost Bollywood Latest News https://ift.tt/dFhwDuv
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