Mr Kapur says good roles are hard to come by.
Mumbai:
As an actor he brings a certaindepth and range to his characters and that's why veteran actorPankaj Kapur often goes unemployed.
Mr Kapur, 58, who is returning to acting after a gap ofthree years with Vishal Bhardwaj's Matru Ki Bijlee KaMandola, says good roles are hard to come by.
"I have learnt to become patient as an actor. Many peoplefrom the industry come up to me and say 'We don't see youonscreen much'. But where are the scripts? Do you think I amnot sitting in my office and waiting for something likeMatru to happen to me? I would love to do four such films ina year," Kapur told PTI in an interview.
An actor par excellence, Kapur turned to TV to act inshows like Karamchand, Zabaan Sambhaal Ke and Neem KaPed when he was not getting good offers in films.
He returned to cinema with landmark roles in films likeEk Doctor Ki Maut, Roja, Maqbool, Dharm and BlueUmbrella among many others.
Though he believes cinema is offering him bettercharacters now, Kapur says the actor in him still getsinsecure if good roles don't come his way often.
"Lot of scripts do come my way but sometimes I feel I ambeing too selective, sometimes I feel I deserve better,sometimes I feel I need to earn a livelihood, sometimes itdisappoints and disheartens me but it does not make me angrybecause somewhere I have accepted it as an actor.
"I feel that God has been amazingly kind to me. How manyactors get to stay for 30 years and play the kind of rolesthat I have done? I am human and get insecure because I am amiddle class man and I need to feed my family and acting isthe only job I know," says Kapur.
Another myth that is attached to Kapur is that he onlylikes intense roles. Kapur, on his part, says he is happy todo anything that is demanded of him as long as it offerssomething substantial to his actor's self.
"Somehow people have this idea that I am this pseudo kindof actor who is against entertaining roles. If I can dance ina Vishal Bhardwaj film then why I can't do it in your film. Iwould love a director to come up to me and offer me a part andeven if I say 'no', he has the courage to go and make hisfilm. Maybe we can work together on something else," saysKapur.
Kapur and Bhardwaj share a long association and they havedeveloped an ease over the years by working on films likeBlue Umbrella and Maqbool, which is counted among one ofthe finest performances of Kapur.
Reflecting on his equation with Bhardwaj, Kapur says,"There are people who come your way and the interactionhappens in such a way that you don't realise when you becomefriends. We developed a certain kind of trust and ease whileworking on Maqbool and then he cast me in Blue Umbrella.
"I also saw this young man who had this hunger toimprove, to become better with each film. That is somethingthat Vishal and I share as people. He is simple and from amiddle class family, so am I. He wants to do good cinema and Iwant to do good acting and that's how we bonded."
Kapur, who plays a village head in Matru Ki Bijlee KaMandola, will be seen doing some rare stunts and dancing inthe film, something he has not done before.
"Each character that you play there is something that isalways difficult. In Maqbool, I was asked to play a mafiadon but I never met a don. How do I create it? I try to digeverything from the script and create a character who conveysthat sense of power. It is sheer characterisation.
"Mandola's role is very charming. He is very boisterous,full of life, up there kind of character. He is drunk most ofthe times. When he is drunk he is great and loves people buthe is different when he is sober."
Kapur says he was nervous initially to play Mandolabecause he was required to do a lot of dancing and stunts buthe practised for it.
"I had not danced since my theatre days. Nobody hadexpected it of me but Vishal came up with this character and Ihad to learn and did whatever best I could do."
Ask him whether he is working on anything new, Kapursays, "Right now I am unemployed, and I mean it."
But he hopes to continue acting this year before hereturns behind the camera again.
Mr Kapur, 58, who is returning to acting after a gap ofthree years with Vishal Bhardwaj's Matru Ki Bijlee KaMandola, says good roles are hard to come by.
"I have learnt to become patient as an actor. Many peoplefrom the industry come up to me and say 'We don't see youonscreen much'. But where are the scripts? Do you think I amnot sitting in my office and waiting for something likeMatru to happen to me? I would love to do four such films ina year," Kapur told PTI in an interview.
An actor par excellence, Kapur turned to TV to act inshows like Karamchand, Zabaan Sambhaal Ke and Neem KaPed when he was not getting good offers in films.
He returned to cinema with landmark roles in films likeEk Doctor Ki Maut, Roja, Maqbool, Dharm and BlueUmbrella among many others.
Though he believes cinema is offering him bettercharacters now, Kapur says the actor in him still getsinsecure if good roles don't come his way often.
"Lot of scripts do come my way but sometimes I feel I ambeing too selective, sometimes I feel I deserve better,sometimes I feel I need to earn a livelihood, sometimes itdisappoints and disheartens me but it does not make me angrybecause somewhere I have accepted it as an actor.
"I feel that God has been amazingly kind to me. How manyactors get to stay for 30 years and play the kind of rolesthat I have done? I am human and get insecure because I am amiddle class man and I need to feed my family and acting isthe only job I know," says Kapur.
Another myth that is attached to Kapur is that he onlylikes intense roles. Kapur, on his part, says he is happy todo anything that is demanded of him as long as it offerssomething substantial to his actor's self.
"Somehow people have this idea that I am this pseudo kindof actor who is against entertaining roles. If I can dance ina Vishal Bhardwaj film then why I can't do it in your film. Iwould love a director to come up to me and offer me a part andeven if I say 'no', he has the courage to go and make hisfilm. Maybe we can work together on something else," saysKapur.
Kapur and Bhardwaj share a long association and they havedeveloped an ease over the years by working on films likeBlue Umbrella and Maqbool, which is counted among one ofthe finest performances of Kapur.
Reflecting on his equation with Bhardwaj, Kapur says,"There are people who come your way and the interactionhappens in such a way that you don't realise when you becomefriends. We developed a certain kind of trust and ease whileworking on Maqbool and then he cast me in Blue Umbrella.
"I also saw this young man who had this hunger toimprove, to become better with each film. That is somethingthat Vishal and I share as people. He is simple and from amiddle class family, so am I. He wants to do good cinema and Iwant to do good acting and that's how we bonded."
Kapur, who plays a village head in Matru Ki Bijlee KaMandola, will be seen doing some rare stunts and dancing inthe film, something he has not done before.
"Each character that you play there is something that isalways difficult. In Maqbool, I was asked to play a mafiadon but I never met a don. How do I create it? I try to digeverything from the script and create a character who conveysthat sense of power. It is sheer characterisation.
"Mandola's role is very charming. He is very boisterous,full of life, up there kind of character. He is drunk most ofthe times. When he is drunk he is great and loves people buthe is different when he is sober."
Kapur says he was nervous initially to play Mandolabecause he was required to do a lot of dancing and stunts buthe practised for it.
"I had not danced since my theatre days. Nobody hadexpected it of me but Vishal came up with this character and Ihad to learn and did whatever best I could do."
Ask him whether he is working on anything new, Kapursays, "Right now I am unemployed, and I mean it."
But he hopes to continue acting this year before hereturns behind the camera again.
