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| You might have seen him on television hosting a number of shows. Also an actor on the small screen, Salil Acharya has come a long way. Making his debut in Mohit Suri's Awarapan, Salil spoke to IndiaFM in an exclusive interview. When did you know that you wanted to get into the entertainment business? I don't know. Being a RJ was something that I started off with even though I was not professionally trained and that's how I came to Bombay and then one thing just led to another. In a way it was a good learning process for me, because I used to interview lot of film actors. Through these interviews I learnt that there are certain norms of this film industry which you have to abide by if you got to survive here. I switched a lot of jobs from doing radio journalism to going to events and taking interviews, to editing interviews. I never used to watch Hindi films, but eventually I started watching Hindi films. Later I also had a film critic show on Radio Mirchi. Slowly, I got to understand what Bollywood was all about. I never wanted to become one of the many RJs. I never stopped working on my body building. I used to spend good money on my health, mainly food. Then I participated in a contest on AXN and I won that contest. I used to do a show called AXN extreme Dhamaka. B4U was looking for a VJ who had a good sense of humor even though my good sense of humor does not come across now, but at that time I had a good sense of humor. That's how I took up as a VJ and I enjoyed being a VJ. I also did a few serials but that was purely to earn some quick bucks. I thought if I have to live in Bombay and live comfortably, afford a decent flat, at least have a car then I will have to earn enough. So I calculated that I would earn an X amount in VJing, an X amount in voicing and an X amount by acting in TV. I used to almost work for 20 hrs a day for those three years. I used to work so hard that I did not even go for my real sister's wedding in America. I went home after two years that too only for two days. I made many sacrifices because I had this obsession for achieving success. People around me used to tell me that I am not focused in life, that I should not be doing so many things at the same time, but I told them why not:? There are people who do MBA, CA, college all together, so what if I had this special ability to be a VJ, a TV actor & a voice artist. I had done economics honors and started MBA also. Multitasking was in my blood. Then Vishesh films happened to me, but I had learnt everything which I had to prior to getting this film offer obviously not about acting but how to be mentally prepared. In that sense I was at least not raw with the business of Bollywood. No, I never have pre-set notions that I want to be film actor categorically. You know when you come to this city every person has this ultimate dream of working in a Yash Raj film or a Karan Johar film the moment you have stepped in Bombay, but in reality this does not happen. I was always clear about one thing; that I do not want to while away my time like any other struggler who lives on wada pav and survives in this city. I was always a performer, I had to keep myself alive, so it did not matter to me in which medium of entertainment I was working, as long as it gave me money and creative satisfaction. I did not want to work in one film and then have a long gap then tell people that I am being choosy. My biggest complain about TV actors doing films is that TV actors are portrayed as TV ACTORS. I have not seen any of my generation actors doing meaningful roles; of course there have been many senior TV actors who have done good work in films also. Therefore when I was offered my first film Awarapan my only request was that I should not be portrayed as a TV actor, and I am happy with the way my role has shaped out. It is one of the lead roles in the film. I did not want to be launched in a small budget film with a newcomer actress, because no big actress would be willing to work opposite me. I wanted my first film to be seen by all and not by some niche audience. I was always clear about my first film that it had to be with a good production house, there should be stars in the film, a good director, and primarily my role should be well defined and Awarapan was just what I had wished for. It has a Bhatt camp which is a boon to people like me. They gave me the opportunity to perform in a role big enough to be a hero in the film. I loved Mohit Suri's work in Kalyug and Woh Lamhe. What I like about Mohit was that he never treated me like a rookie in comparison with Emraan Hashmi and other actors. I did not want to work in a film where there is someone like Salman Khan who is put up in a 7 star hotel and I am being put up in a 2 star accommodation. Then there is Emraan Hashmi who is saleable, he has his loyal audience. Secondly this is a big budget film of 18-20 crores, like 'Salaam E Ishq' was made for 23 crore where it had so many stars. I am also glad I did this film because this team had a number of intelligent people associated with it. There was Shaad Randhawa, Ashutosh Rana who is playing my father in the film, Emraan and then there was Mukesh Bhatt who used to always be on the sets. Every one was treated with equal respect. This film is divided in two or three tracks. There is a love story between Emraan and Shreya .Then there is love story between Emraan and Mrinali. There is also a track where my father Ashutosh Rana thinks that I am his good for nothing son and therefore he ends up giving all the importance to Emraan who is working for my father, so there is a constant tussle between me and Emraan. I have a negative role in the film and I had no qualms about accepting a negative role, because primarily I wanted a meaty role being negative or positive was the least of a concern for me. I am sure when the audience walks out of the theatre after watching my film they will be mouthing my dialogues like Gabbars Singh's dialogues. You can say that I am the 'new age villain' Onscreen you and Emraan share cold vibes. How was your equation with him off-screen? Emraan is a very good actor and I gelled very well with him. It is Emraan's film but all the other characters are also justified. He is very chilled out and a thorough professional. He has this ability to remember every body's dialogues along with his own lines. I respect him because he is proven himself. My most memorable is the first scene of mine in the film which was shot in Hong Kong in a bar with Emraan. I had long dialogues in this scene. The torture scene is the best scene in the film. After eight hours of shooting this scene Anil dada my make up man, the spot boys on the set everyone congratulated me for my performance. You know an actor constantly needs to be reminded that he is doing a good job because at times even while filming you tend to get disheartened. At times you feel may be your role gets edited. It feels good to be appreciated. You know when I got this film my first reaction was that I told my friend that 'Thank God, at least my kids will be able to see a DVD of my one film.' You can imagine how the feeling must be for a boy who avoids Hindi films and Hindi music like plague but comes to Mumbai five years ago, lives in Churchgate with just a cell number, and suddenly after five years gets a big twenty crore Bollywood film which will release with 400 prints. Obviously I feel on the top of the world. I think after the first show I will be able to explain the feeling in a better way. http://www.indiafm.com/broadband/video/Interviews/rjRA9J63/3 /Salil-Acharya-Speaks-About-Awarapan.html |
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