New year, new beginnings and my first post in the new year. Where do I start from? I'd start by sharing my experience while completing a project given to me by my acting school. "Character study" is what it was called. In this an actor has to explore places he's not accustomed to, research on people that he would never encounter if it was left upto him, stay with them, adapt to their surroundings, observe them closely, their routines and then become them by the end of it. This was the drill : 4 days of this and then a performance in the acting studio on the 5th wherein the actor would have to dress like the character he's studied, speak exactly like him and assimilate all their mannerisms characteristic to their behaviour.
So, I began my hunt for an interesting character. My journey began from Dhobi Ghat. It's an open-air laundromat where thousands of dhobis (read 'local washers') wash clothes in the open for Mumbai's hotels, hospitals and other establishments. The sight of thousands of them bashing and beating the clothes left, right and centre is one to behold. Such a large scale functioning almost surprised me because I never thought there could be this magnitude of discipline in a single place where everything spelled "systematic". Just as I was loitering around the bylanes of Dhobi Ghat , I came across this person at a tea-stall interacting with the chaiwalla (person who makes tea at a tea-stall) in a variant of English that could best be described as funny. He looked like Einstein and Sherlock Holmes amalgamated into one old spinster. His clothing went like this- a black trouser, black coat with a layer of 4 shirts beneath the coat, a black hat, teeth that resembled the actors eating Cadbury silk and the dirtiest sport shoes on planet earth. What attracted me was not his english that I mentioned earlier but the fact that he was talking about finding a beautiful bride for himself (all this while he looked like 70-80ish).
"THIS IS IT! THIS YOUR CHARACTER", I said to myself (my heart and mind were in unison for a change).
I went upto him trying to start a conversation about marriage and asked him a few questions. What followed after that totally left me in splits but I had to be straightfaced as judging the character wasn't our job; our job was to study the character and be one with him. The first words he uttered went like this " I don't any problem speaking to you but my problem has my wife, my three daughters got raped like vagina and anus not identify inside or outside". Quite a character indeed. He spoke about how Anna Hazare (the modern day pioneer of anti-corruption movement in India) had taken a loan of 200 crores from him and how Arvind Kejriwal (Anna's sidekick and now the leader of the political party named AAP that's creating ripples in the Indian political system) had borrowed 500 crores from him to contest the elections for the post of Chief Minister of Delhi. His conversation went from teaching 12,500 students about economy to how much a piece and then a pack of cigarette/beedi costs these days. He told me about how he had been thrown out of his house by his son and how his life revolved around sleeping on streets and being paid by the police for survival. Everything was going fine but then he did not have a cellphone and not a fixed location as he hopped from one place to another. His lifestyle was as dynamic as the things he spoke which left me besotted but tracking him the next day would be an issue so I had to reluctantly leave my character and search for another one.
Next stop was Dharavi - Asia's largest slum lying on the prime property right in the middle of India's financial capital, Mumbai. This place always aroused my curiosity ever since I watched Danny Boyle's Oscar spinning venture "Slumdog Millionaire" but actually being there was something else altogether! Houses so dense that it resembled tropical forests wherein even an iota of sunlight couldn't enter. A person I met over there had actually not seen sunlight for 5 years since both his house and his shop were based in Dharavi itself. Pathways leading to houses were so narrow that a person slightly obese would get stuck and not be able to move an inch. Drains running throughout the stretch resulted in a stench that was unbearable. Tiny tots ran around barefoot incognizant of their surroundings. The picture obviously wasn't rosy but what was heartening was the fact that the people staying there were always smiling- some smiles attributed to optimism and some maybe to habituation to circumstances.
Just then I met this person named "Abdul Razzaq Sheikh". White hair, a shrieking slim voice which could still hold strongly in a crowd, vest visible from the shirt, loose pants and eyes radiating happiness. He came along and showed me the interiors of Dharavi. It struck me as to why was I searching for a character when I had a character who was guiding me through the region. I started observing his mannerisms and enquired about his whereabouts, childhood, family, work and other related stuff. He was kind enough to let me in his house where we sat and had a long conversation. He wasn't rich by any stretch of imagination but he took immense pride in his house that measured 10x15. He told me how he could have built an empire and referred to the building outside his compound wall which could have been his, had he resorted to unfair means of earning, lying and deceit. He quoted "Hum chote logaan jhopdi ke, yeh bade chor logaan bhosdike" (meaning we the normal people from huts and these big people nothing but buttfucks). He surely had a sense of humour. He wasn't ashamed about the fact he was uneducated because he said he had intelligence. "Pait bharne ke liye degree ki kya zarurat miyaan. Allah haath paanv diya na toh kaam kar lenge" (meaning who needs a degree to fill his tummy, Allah has given me the resources so I'll make it work any which ways) We talked about everything under the sun. But one thing that touched me immensely was his view towards all religions. On being asked whether he was religious he replied "No one is religious. We are all needy, selfish beings. We remember the almighty according to our convenience and take him for granted. We muslims need azaan as the reminder to read the Namaz, hindus need the sound of the bells and idols to go the temples. Worshipping isn't second nature to us. We do it out of greed. We always ask the almighty for something". Continuing in the same vein he takes out a coin from his pocket and shows me saying "See this. You see Mother Vaishnodevi (Hindu goddess) at the back of this 5 rupee coin? You hindus believe a lot in her right? But what if this coin accidentally falls out of my pocket and is stamped upon by people. It would hurt religious sentiments right? This is what angers me. These motherfuckers (read politicians) imprint images of gods and goddesses dear to people for their own selfish need. They are the demons who act as separatists between the 2 communities- Hindus and Muslims. Our jihad should be against these idiots instead of innocent people". The man spoke sense. It touched a nerve somewhere. I was thankful somewhere inside me for getting an opportunity to meet such wonderful people. He talked about his kids and his smile reflected a deep satisfaction when he mentioned how well his kids were doing. I recorded his voice and got a few pictures clicked with him so that I could thoroughly work on the look and his voice.
I realised that just watching these brilliant movies with amazing actors portraying these complex characters was easy but the ground reality, the meticulous preparation that goes into it is a herculean task. I dyed my hair a blonde reddish brown shade and my diet comprised of just green tea so that I could get that thin shreiking voice of his. I walked like him, incorporated all his mannerisms, roamed around the city in clothes like his with dirty shoes and a body posture that left my shoulders hurting and a back aching for the week that followed. It was worth the effort though. It's the fact that you get to be whoever you want to that attracts me and makes me love my craft. My biggest compliment was the fact that my mom (who is also my worst critic) cut the call not once but twice during my character study because she couldn't identify my voice and thought she had dialled a wrong number. So, here's to exploring new avenues and setting out on new journeys. Hope I have hundreds of such experiences in store!
So, I began my hunt for an interesting character. My journey began from Dhobi Ghat. It's an open-air laundromat where thousands of dhobis (read 'local washers') wash clothes in the open for Mumbai's hotels, hospitals and other establishments. The sight of thousands of them bashing and beating the clothes left, right and centre is one to behold. Such a large scale functioning almost surprised me because I never thought there could be this magnitude of discipline in a single place where everything spelled "systematic". Just as I was loitering around the bylanes of Dhobi Ghat , I came across this person at a tea-stall interacting with the chaiwalla (person who makes tea at a tea-stall) in a variant of English that could best be described as funny. He looked like Einstein and Sherlock Holmes amalgamated into one old spinster. His clothing went like this- a black trouser, black coat with a layer of 4 shirts beneath the coat, a black hat, teeth that resembled the actors eating Cadbury silk and the dirtiest sport shoes on planet earth. What attracted me was not his english that I mentioned earlier but the fact that he was talking about finding a beautiful bride for himself (all this while he looked like 70-80ish).
"THIS IS IT! THIS YOUR CHARACTER", I said to myself (my heart and mind were in unison for a change).
I went upto him trying to start a conversation about marriage and asked him a few questions. What followed after that totally left me in splits but I had to be straightfaced as judging the character wasn't our job; our job was to study the character and be one with him. The first words he uttered went like this " I don't any problem speaking to you but my problem has my wife, my three daughters got raped like vagina and anus not identify inside or outside". Quite a character indeed. He spoke about how Anna Hazare (the modern day pioneer of anti-corruption movement in India) had taken a loan of 200 crores from him and how Arvind Kejriwal (Anna's sidekick and now the leader of the political party named AAP that's creating ripples in the Indian political system) had borrowed 500 crores from him to contest the elections for the post of Chief Minister of Delhi. His conversation went from teaching 12,500 students about economy to how much a piece and then a pack of cigarette/beedi costs these days. He told me about how he had been thrown out of his house by his son and how his life revolved around sleeping on streets and being paid by the police for survival. Everything was going fine but then he did not have a cellphone and not a fixed location as he hopped from one place to another. His lifestyle was as dynamic as the things he spoke which left me besotted but tracking him the next day would be an issue so I had to reluctantly leave my character and search for another one.
Next stop was Dharavi - Asia's largest slum lying on the prime property right in the middle of India's financial capital, Mumbai. This place always aroused my curiosity ever since I watched Danny Boyle's Oscar spinning venture "Slumdog Millionaire" but actually being there was something else altogether! Houses so dense that it resembled tropical forests wherein even an iota of sunlight couldn't enter. A person I met over there had actually not seen sunlight for 5 years since both his house and his shop were based in Dharavi itself. Pathways leading to houses were so narrow that a person slightly obese would get stuck and not be able to move an inch. Drains running throughout the stretch resulted in a stench that was unbearable. Tiny tots ran around barefoot incognizant of their surroundings. The picture obviously wasn't rosy but what was heartening was the fact that the people staying there were always smiling- some smiles attributed to optimism and some maybe to habituation to circumstances.
Just then I met this person named "Abdul Razzaq Sheikh". White hair, a shrieking slim voice which could still hold strongly in a crowd, vest visible from the shirt, loose pants and eyes radiating happiness. He came along and showed me the interiors of Dharavi. It struck me as to why was I searching for a character when I had a character who was guiding me through the region. I started observing his mannerisms and enquired about his whereabouts, childhood, family, work and other related stuff. He was kind enough to let me in his house where we sat and had a long conversation. He wasn't rich by any stretch of imagination but he took immense pride in his house that measured 10x15. He told me how he could have built an empire and referred to the building outside his compound wall which could have been his, had he resorted to unfair means of earning, lying and deceit. He quoted "Hum chote logaan jhopdi ke, yeh bade chor logaan bhosdike" (meaning we the normal people from huts and these big people nothing but buttfucks). He surely had a sense of humour. He wasn't ashamed about the fact he was uneducated because he said he had intelligence. "Pait bharne ke liye degree ki kya zarurat miyaan. Allah haath paanv diya na toh kaam kar lenge" (meaning who needs a degree to fill his tummy, Allah has given me the resources so I'll make it work any which ways) We talked about everything under the sun. But one thing that touched me immensely was his view towards all religions. On being asked whether he was religious he replied "No one is religious. We are all needy, selfish beings. We remember the almighty according to our convenience and take him for granted. We muslims need azaan as the reminder to read the Namaz, hindus need the sound of the bells and idols to go the temples. Worshipping isn't second nature to us. We do it out of greed. We always ask the almighty for something". Continuing in the same vein he takes out a coin from his pocket and shows me saying "See this. You see Mother Vaishnodevi (Hindu goddess) at the back of this 5 rupee coin? You hindus believe a lot in her right? But what if this coin accidentally falls out of my pocket and is stamped upon by people. It would hurt religious sentiments right? This is what angers me. These motherfuckers (read politicians) imprint images of gods and goddesses dear to people for their own selfish need. They are the demons who act as separatists between the 2 communities- Hindus and Muslims. Our jihad should be against these idiots instead of innocent people". The man spoke sense. It touched a nerve somewhere. I was thankful somewhere inside me for getting an opportunity to meet such wonderful people. He talked about his kids and his smile reflected a deep satisfaction when he mentioned how well his kids were doing. I recorded his voice and got a few pictures clicked with him so that I could thoroughly work on the look and his voice.
I realised that just watching these brilliant movies with amazing actors portraying these complex characters was easy but the ground reality, the meticulous preparation that goes into it is a herculean task. I dyed my hair a blonde reddish brown shade and my diet comprised of just green tea so that I could get that thin shreiking voice of his. I walked like him, incorporated all his mannerisms, roamed around the city in clothes like his with dirty shoes and a body posture that left my shoulders hurting and a back aching for the week that followed. It was worth the effort though. It's the fact that you get to be whoever you want to that attracts me and makes me love my craft. My biggest compliment was the fact that my mom (who is also my worst critic) cut the call not once but twice during my character study because she couldn't identify my voice and thought she had dialled a wrong number. So, here's to exploring new avenues and setting out on new journeys. Hope I have hundreds of such experiences in store!
