Interview With Anuj Saxena

Tell us something about yourself?
Anuj : I was born in Delhi, came to Bombay when I was a small child. Been a Bombayite through and through, studied in Campion school and decided I wanted to be a doctor at that point. After deciding to be a doctor and doing medicine, I decided I didn't want to do it anymore, it wasn't worth it! Never thought I'd be a businessman or an actor - acting happened by chance, business happened by compulsion because my father emotionally blackmailed me to join the business, but no regrets, I'm quite happy with the work I'm doing - It's good money, it's interesting, I get to travel around the world....

Acting happened a few years ago, I'd say 8 or 9 years ago. A friend of mine wantd me to do acting and I wasn't interested. Hindi films and Hindi music were something I never thought would go with me but I decided to give it a shot. I did something on Doordarshan for Anand Mahendroo around 92-94. At that time there was only DD, nothing else. I did a project called Aasmaan Se Aage - an Indianised serialised version of a book called "Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. The programme was critically successful. That led to another project called Karm by Picasso productions for EL TV. Again, good role because I had been doing lead roles, in Aasmaan Se Aage, I played the lead, and in Karm I was playing the vagabond rebel son so my father tells me take it it's true to life, so you don't have to do any acting!

I also did 2 other projects. 'Kora Kagaz' with Asha Parekh, and Ravi Rai's 'Kshitij' , then decided that's the end of acting for me. Had my fun, had my chill, don't want to do it anymore. Decided to do 100% business and then a call came from Balaji (Telefilms) and at first I thought someone's playing a joke on me. I went across and they said, this is the subject, this is the role and the rest as they say is history. At least for Sony it is! I don't know how far it's true for me (laughs).

How do you manage to combine the two - business and acting?
Difficult. I don't have a social life, no family life, no personal life, my friends have given up on me, my family's given up on me coz I live here (in the suburbs) and my family lives in town so I hardly get to see them. But that's a small sacrifice you've got to make for work.

Doesn't your shooting schedule affect your business?
It has, because I'm not here 24 hours a day as I was earlier, so important decisions get delayed sometimes. It's not the same as it was. I feel bad sometimes, but I make sure nothing really gets out of hand. I've started delegating more, let other people take more decisions.

What have your experiences in acting been like? Isn't there a danger of getting stereotyped? Do you get to do a variety of roles.
Yes it's true that one gets stereotyped. You're either the angry young man or whatever, but even in this character (Abhay Kapoor in Kkusum) in what I've done, and what I'm told the graph of this character is going to be, there is a variety from rich young arrogant playboy to a man who's torn between 2 women - the one he loves and the one he needs, to eventually becoming a reformed guy, so there is a graph. That's one thing as an actor everyone looks at, that you get to play a graph.

In Aasmaan Se Aage I did a role where I had nothing much to talk because it was the persona that was required. And today to playing the lead role - the central role where one has to do a lot of crying, shouting, comedy. In this role I've done comedy, an emotional outburst scene... there is a scope, I wouldn't say all roles are stereotyped, but then in TV, in a way how much can u change the story? Even today, everything is saas-bahu by and large, but then that's probably what the audience wants. And I feel there is a time or a period for period for everything.

Did you have the ambition to first begin your acting career with films?
Like I said, I never had the ambition to become an actor. (laughs) So it just happened. Even today, I'm not saying I'm only doing TV or only do films because today both are big, because TV is as big as film sometimes probably bigger unless if you're probably a Hrithik or a Shahrukh. If you're a top star in a TV soap like Mihir has become, you are equally accepted. I'm not saying that one is good or bad, but the point is to do good work. Somebody offered me something on DD and I'm considering it because the role is good. Some of my friends say Why would you want to go from Sony to DD and I was like it's not a question of going from a pvt channel look at the role. As an actor I was very calculative about it that a pvt channel gives me the visibility and the audience in the metros but a DD gives me the reach in the interiors and if I'm an actor where I'd like to be known across the board, I should look at that.

What do you look at before you take up a role?
It's the combination of the role and the set-up. When I say setup, who's the writer, who's the director, the producer and the cameraman.

Tell us about your role in Kkusum?
I've been branded the biggest b*****d going around! (bursts into laughter) But I'm not so bad, I don't think so. I'm still a bachelor and I still remember when my character turns, my mother called me up and said, 'What are you doing?!' and I said, 'See if you force me to get married, this is what is gonna happen to your bahu! So be careful and think about it!' And now after the progression of the character so far, it's like no one's gonna give up their daughter in marriage!

What has your family's reaction?
If you ask my father, he'll say I'm wasting my time, but I think secretly he's proud of it. I don't think fathers especially will ever admit that their sons are successful or more successful than they are. I was interviewed on CNBC and he was interviewed as well and he said on CNBC, his acting is ---- and I said, "Dad do you mind...?!" and I told them my dad is going to say this to you so be ready but secretly he is quite proud of it. My family is OK with it but in life I've always tried and keep my family happy but eventually I take decisions for myself because if you start living for everybody else then you'll never go anywhere in life.

Any interesting experiences on the sets of Kkusum?
If you come on the sets, you'll find that we have fun all the time. So I think my directors have to ask me to shut up sometimes. It's a good unit. I can't recall a particular incident because we're always fooling around. I make it a point to always have lots of fun on the sets because otherwise I get very bored.

How is it working with Balaji Telefilms?
The reason for taking Kkusum was one, it was the lead role two, it was Balaji and third, Sony.

Balaji is the No. 1 right now, so I said OK. I was only skeptical at that point because they were showing it against KBC. A lot of careers were at stake, but I told Ektaa (Kapoor), at the end of the day you're the boss, so I will not argue with you, you know what you're doing so let's hope it succeeds.

How does it feel now that Kkusum is so successful?
I will be happy only when it becomes the No. 1 show. Of course, every serial cannot become a Kyon Ki... or Kahani...but one can always aspire, put in your hard work, do your best and leave the rest to God.

What are the kinds of roles that you really aspire to? Is there anything you'd like to do but hasn't come your way yet?
Bluntly, I don't have expectations, because I've learnt in life that when you have expectations, they don't come true. I didn't expect Kkusum to be a big hit ; if it works damn good, I'll be very happy, if it doesn't OK. Someone offered me a role in the South and I said Why not? I can't speak the language but then, everybody's doing it. I think it would be an interesting experience. If tomorrow, someone offers me a villain's role, I'll do it if it's a good role, if I leave a mark.

Acting today is not for my bread and butter. I'm acting today because it's my passion, because I enjoy it. Touch wood, by the grace of God, I've got a good business, good money, good family and friends who are understanding, at least till now! So I'm not looking in particular for a kind of role nor do I want to do something specific.

Would you consider getting into film production?
No way!

When you started acting, was there ever a thought in your mind that you should have undergone some sort of training?
I didn't go for dancing classes or horse-riding classes! I went to brush up my Urdu to a gentleman by the name of Khaleel Hassan. At that time I was living in Colaba so I would go to him all the way to Versova, thrice a week at 6 in the morning.

Do you think your acting ability was inborn? Since you went to medical school you never thought you were going to be an actor..
I used to be very camera-conscious when I used to do plays in school!

So you used to act in school?
Not voluntarily. I mean sometimes you have to participate in these things so one doesn't have a choice but to do it.

What is the formula for a successful actor? Do you think there's something that really gets you ahead?
One is conviction and passion. You should want to be an actor and then you should believe you can go ahead. I may have been lucky that things happened for me, which is not the case with most people because they have to struggle for years and the only thing that keeps them going is that they believe and they have the conviction that they can act and they will make it big someday.
So, conviction, desire, passion and hard work.
And you must listen to your director. The director knows best.

So you think it's better to be a director's actor?
Yes. Add your bit... A good director will always listen to what you say. At the end, both are acting towards the betterment of the product. You have to have a combination of both. I mean, today on the set we discuss with Anil the line is not correct maybe the thing should be said in a different way - can we change it? And he is willing to accept it. Either he convinces me that I'm wrong in thinking this way or I convince him that this is going to lift the scene up.

Can you be critical about yourself? What is it about yourself that you really like as an actor and what do you think needs to be worked on?
I still think I need to work a lot on my diction. I speak English a lot more than I speak Hindi. That does become a problem with the clarity sometimes because when you're used to speaking a particular language and you have to switch over..there are times when I fumble and I get stuck. Two, I need sometimes to work on my moods. If I get cheesed off on the sets for some reason, it affects my acting and that should not happen. That's another area I need to work on.

In acting, what do you think you are really good at doing?
I really think I'm good at emotional scenes. In Kkusum I had to do an emotional scene where I had to break down and cry and I think everybody broke down on that...I'm good at that.

How would you describe yourself as a person? Most people only know you as Abhay Kapoor...
In real life? I'm an emotional person though I'll never show it anyone. I'm an ambitious person. I want to leave a legacy behind. I want people to remember me for me, for what I've done. I'm kind, I'm very committed to my friends and family, I have very few friends. Because in life, I think you can't have many friends, there are more acquaintances than friends. I don't expect much from people. I've been let down a number of times, so you learn from it in a positive sense that you should be prepared to give but don't expect too much in return. I care a lot. If it doesn't come back I get hurt very badly. Now I've learnt to hide that.

I love music, I love painting, I love poetry. You come to my factory, you'll find my paintings all over the place My farmhouse in Alibaug is also plastered all over with paintings. I'm a creative person by and large. I would also call myself a romantic.

Who is your favourite actor?
I like Aamir, Ajay Devgan. I like Akshay's movies when he's controlled, as in Ek Rishtaa. I like Salman also when he's in controlled performances. One movie of his I really liked was Khamoshi.

Favourite actress?
Meena Kumari followed by Raakhee, Jaya Prada and topping them all is Rekha.

Favourite movie?
At the moment - Meet Joe Black, with Brad Pitt. I loved the film for the philosophy.

Favourite music?
ABBA, Bee Gees. In music, I like everything, different moods, different music.

Favourite food?
Italian and Thai.

Favourite holiday destination?
What's that?? I don't know the meaning of the word! But my favourite cities would be London, NY, San Fransisco.

Do you miss being a doctor?
Sometimes.

What is it about being a doctor that you miss most?
The fact that I could cure people. The clinical aspect of being in touch with somebody. I delivered my first niece, but after that I told my family, I'm running a factory, I can't come for everybody's deliveries! It's a great feeling, to bring somebody into the world, make somebody happy, that's what I miss.

What inspires you?
I think it's the quest to be different, to achieve something. I like to think I'm different, it may sound egoistic but I don't like to be normal. There's no fun in being normal. Not out of compulsion to act differently - I consider myself different - I don't think any normal person can do what I'm doing in life in any case. And then when I see people achieve lot of stuff... I mean I have a tiff with Ektaa all the time. We both have this thing about who's working harder- I thought I used to work hard but after I see her work I say, Wow, you inspire me, and she says No, you work harder, so we've got each other to give competition to!

What about future roles?
I have not yet said yes to anybody in particular. I'm meeting people. It's got to be the main role, it's got to be a good subject, I'm not doing it for the money, but it's got to interest me.

Do you have a message for your fans?
I'm glad you like the show. Keep watching. I'm not as bad as I appear to be (bursts out laughing) and thanks for the viewership! Keep watching to make it the number one show.