Actor Ishwak Singh says a movie based in rural Punjab could help him reconnect with his roots
Nonika Singh
Equanimity is not just a word Ishwak Singh attributes to describe Vikram Sarabhai, the renowned scientist whose part he etched beautifully in Rocket Boys. Composure could well be Ishwak’s middle name too. Praise him, plod him, even provoke him; the Berlin actor is anything but excitable.
After winning accolades for playing a rather challenging character of a deaf, mute spy Ashok in Berlin, one would expect him to be on cloud nine. Yes he admits ‘appreciation feels good’, but more than the feeling of being rewarded, what keeps him going are ‘working on newer things’. As he reprises the part of Imran Ansari in the much-acclaimed Paatal Lok in its second season, his lips are sealed about his character arc. Indeed, he has many good things to say about the showrunner Sudeep Sharma, director Avinash Arun and, of course, its sterling writing. Writing anyway is what makes him say yes to a project.
When shows like Paatal Lok are based on a novel The Story of My Assassins by Tarun Tejpal, is he compelled to read it before going on the sets? He says, “Much before the part comes to actors, makers and writers have developed it for months, often years. I have to understand what they think is the way forward. And what I should do to understand their world better. In Paatal Lok, the idea may have come from the book, but there was so much newness to it and I didn’t see the need to read it.”
Four years since Season 1 dropped in 2020, isn’t it too long a gap to keep the fans of the series invested? Ishwak shares, “When something is authentic to its genre, it will find its place and relevance. Audiences will certainly get bang for their buck. All I can say is when Jaideep Ahlawat and I got together on the sets, it seemed like yesterday and all the memories of making the Season 1 rushed back, and we got into the groove instantly.”
Among his many stellar parts, Imran Ansari, ‘the first one which put me on the map’ is akin to first love. Mercifully, it did not typecast him. He says, “Typically, I should have been flooded with more cop parts. Instead, it opened doors for a variety of roles — from a scientist to a spy.”
Berlin is special too for, “It was out of my comfort zone with no reference point, required me to learn a new skill of sign language. Everything fell into place.”
A bonafide OTT star, he doesn’t think fatigue has set in this space. “Wherever I go, be it business meetings or personal get-togethers, OTT is still the talking point, part of the conversations invariably are — what are you watching?” he adds. Precisely, why he doesn’t care whether his upcoming film Sarvgunn Sampann, directed by debutant director Sonali Rattan Deshmukh, is screened in cinema halls or on OTT? He adds, “Anyway, it’s the makers’ call. I stick to my lane and don’t let my personal biases interfere with my acting process. Besides, some films are destined to make a mark on OTT.”
He would not mind working in big budget films which is where he started out, albeit in smaller parts as in movies like Veere Di Wedding, Tamaasha, Raanjhanaa et al. Since he believes, “Your relevance is decided by the industry and filmmakers. They decide what your worth is,” he is not unnecessarily pushing himself. He adds, “Let them have complete faith in me. Otherwise what’s the point?” Just as there is none in saying yes to short cameos for, “Would it not tantamount to one step forward and two backward?” But one turn he doesn’t mind is which would take this Punjabi to his roots.
Born and brought up in Delhi, he would love to do a Punjabi film, precisely for, “With no connect with my rural roots, since everyone migrated, a movie set in rural Punjab could help me reconnect and get me some sort of closure.” Till then, the Punjabi who aced the Gujarati Sarabhai would like to get his feet wet and learn the cultural nuances of different cultures of India, even learn a new language. The language of acting, ‘to play my part honestly, so people find it relatable and it moves them’, anyway is basic for him.
