TV actors end up being EMI actors
Caroline D'Cruz,TNN | Jun 23, 2012, 12.00AM IST?
Amit Sadh More Pics
Amit Sadh tells us of a time when he had to sell his house and car to get into acting school because he wasn't getting any work
Amit Sadh quit his studies and went to Mumbai to become an actor when he was 21. Luck worked in his favour and the offers started pouring in. Within a span of one year, Sadh became a household name on television. Then he appeared as a contestant on "Bigg Boss", which, according to him, felt like hell as he was stuck in a house with people who he didn't know. A decade later, after having quit television for good and facing a long spell of unemployment, the actor finally has some work in hand - the film "Kai Po Che!" based on Chetan Bhagat's novel "3 Mistakes Of My Life". Excerpts from a chat.
I quit TV and went to acting school
I had to sell my house and car to go to acting school. This phase showed me where I am, where I stand and the truth about who I really am. After I quit TV, I was pursuing films and I wasn't getting any. A lot of hard stuff was happening in life. I just decided one day that I'll go to New York and enroll in acting school and I started learning acting there. I sold my house and my car to go and learn acting. I know it was a silly thing, people thought I'd lost it, but it's OK. I am single, I don't have to take care of anyone, all I have to take care of is a dog and me. Jab bahut achcha paisa hota hai I buy him Royal Canine and jab paisa kam hota hai I buy him Pedigree. He hates Pedigree so I mix it with dahi and try to feed him. I was living on a shoestring budget.
I had an expensive car but I sold it. Yeh sab material cheezon se mood uth gaya mera. Jab main TV kar raha tha main sochta tha gaadi badi honi chahiye, jab main aankh band karta tha toh bade ghar ke sapne aate thay. Woh bhi galat nahi tha, but now I think I'm enlightened, now I don't dream of those things when I close my eyes. I want to be a human being; good or bad is irrelevant because we all make our mistakes. I want to be a guy who makes people smile, even after I've left. I've not aged with years, I've aged with experience and I stood like a rock and took it all. I think that's what made me a man. I think God got tired and was like, 'OK, I've harassed this kid a lot, let's make him happy now'. I can feel the love now, I paid a penance and now it's like I'm reaping the harvest.
My lifestyle changed when I was looking for work. I moved from a 3BHK to a rented apartment. The car came down, there was a time when I didn't even have a car, so I used to travel in autos in Mumbai. People would see me, and go, 'Haww yeh toh woh actor tha TV ka ab auto mein ghoom raha hai, pagal ho gaya hai'. Others said, 'Iska break-up ho gaya hai, pagal ho gaya hai... yeh alcohol peeke Goa mein pada raha'. I simply thought to myself, kisi din aisi acting karunga, sabko chup kara dunga.
'Bigg Boss' is wrong and it's psychologically abusive
Never in my life will I go to a place like that (the "Bigg Boss" house). I think it's wrong and psychologically abusing people. I was very young and I was put in there with people I didn't know and they were from different backgrounds. I didn't think I'd last, but they didn't take me out and it drove me crazy. I had to stay locked in a house and I couldn't bear those people. If I missed Neeru, and cried it was because I had my own demons that I was fighting and I didn't have a family, so Neeru was my only support, she was all I had.
I don't know why I took up the show, I took it up on impulse. When they found out that I'm an emotional guy, they mentally harassed me, they played with me. They told other people to say things to me. If someone comes up to you and tells you 'your girlfriend left you', it breaks you, I was alone, I didn't have a family, what was I to do? At that point, I was very serious with my girl. So they played me and f**ked with my head. I had a lot of issues and a lot of pent up anger and a certain kind of life which I suppose I wasn't able to deal with, so that's what came out.
I don't have a bed in my house, I sleep on a mattress
For me it was different, not like other TV actors. I went from one break to another and I can say I was lucky in a way. I did historic stuff on TV. I acted on TV, very few people get that chance. I was paid well, I didn't take s**t, I was like a brat on TV. I started understanding what acting was and there was a lot of s**t happening in my life, so I wanted to run away. My first impulse move to go to New York was not to learn acting, I'll be honest with you, I just wanted to escape. But I put all my time and energy into acting, I had so much time on hand anyway. I would reach class even when it snowed and people didn't want to come to class. I was alone, even when you have friends you are alone.
I'm going to be really honest, the problem with television actors is, when they go to Bombay, they start making money. It happened with me. All of a sudden you get 5 lakh, 20 lakh, 30 lakh if you're big. What do you do with that money? You go crazy. You fly this, you go there, you buy that... All material things come into your life and you stop becoming an actor. Gaye aap actor banne thay, bante kya ho? You buy a house, you need a big car kyunki log bula rahe hain, pehchann rahe hain, autograph le rahe hain. One fine day, it all finishes, so who's going to pay that EMI? Problem is, they become EMI actors not working actors. Even if I don't get a job for the next six months, I can survive. I pay rent not EMIs. I have a dog to take care of and I can survive on the basics. If I have too much money, I'll take a holiday, If I don't, I'll chill, go to the gym, wait for an audition. I don't have a bed in my house, I sleep on a mattress. You have to think about acting, not behaving like an actor.
The process of casting has finally started in India
My character in "Kai Po Che" is a priest's son and his loved ones call him 'Omi'. Omi is a sweetheart in the film; he's always there for everyone. He's all strong and macho but he's a bholu, he's really innocent and that innocence attracted me to the role. As an actor, it's not important to associate with the character. The role has to challenge me and the way I look, walk and talk and it has to be different from what I am. Of course, there is this shadow that every actor brings to a role but at the same time, an actor doesn't have to associate with a film at all. I would have drawn blood to get this role, but fortunately, I didn't have to. All actors are greedy. When we read something, we think, yaar yahi banna chahiye, so I will be very honest, when I read the book, I was like, kabhi film mile toh aisi hi milni chahiye. I swear I fell for it and I got it.
The amazing thing in India is that the process of casting has started. There's now a casting director, and there are films and scripts that are given importance. There's a casting director in Bombay, Mukesh Chhabra, he called me to audition for the film and I did. To my luck, Gattu sir (Abhishek Kapoor) liked my audition and I got the role.
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