EXCLUSIVE: Bring Out Issues Like Bullying And Homophobia Out In The Open, Asserts ‘Noblemen’ Actor Kunal Kapoor
Kunal Kapoor Speaks On Bullying And Homophobia
Updated : October 09, 2019 11:44 AM IST
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that actor Kunal Kapoor is one of the most handsome lads in Tinseltown. His recent film Noblemen produced by Yoodlee Films delves into the dark side of school life. It talks about bullying, homophobia and a lot of other things which are shoved under the carpet! The film has now released on Netflix! Kapoor plays the role of a drama teacher who is open-minded and has perhaps gone through a lot in his childhood and thus understands the situation at hand right from the word go! He plays the character which an élan and conviction nonpareil.
He is clearly one of the underrated gems of B’town! But - as they say, you can’t ignore talent, clearly, the body of work Kunal has spoken for itself! Instead of just saying yes to anything and everything coming his way, he prefers scripts that have meat and has something to say!
That’s something fresh, isn’t it?
It was during a lazy Monday afternoon, that I had a heart of hearts conversation with Kunal about the film, the psychological aspects of it and many other things – That’s when he came across to me as a person with a lot of candour and intellect as well. It honestly made my day.
Kunal – Are you listening?
Excerpts from the conversation -
While in Bollywood, where most other actors just want their films to do commercially well and they are least bothered about what the film talks about, actor Kunal Kapoor is a paradigm shift. He wants movies to bring out some discourse, he wants movies to make the viewers dwell on the topic the film was about. Quipped he, “I think, the best movies are the ones which are not just entertaining but also has something important to say, when you step out of the theatre, the movies force you to think about things which you haven’t bought about before. A script that forces you to do that is good indeed. Speaking of Noblemen, the actor said, he liked the difference the director brought to the characters in the film. “The way she (Director Vandana Kataria) was approaching Merchant of Venice was pretty different. It was a story within a story. Merchant of Venice is playing out in the play I am teaching and it is also playing out in the movie as a whole different angle. The whole of it was very interesting and very unique. It deals with issues we don’t talk about - Primarily about bullying and the emotional and mental scars that can leave out on the child. It is not just about a school or college, it is universal. Sometimes the victim becomes the victimiser.”
The actor feels that instead of hiding and being hush-hush about issues like homophobia, bullying so on and so forth, we should be open about it and we should look for ways to put an end to it, otherwise, the repercussions could be dangerous! He stated, “For me, it was basically, one line, the moment when a monster is left unchecked in society, he or she can end up creating monsters that are even more dangerous. When we sweep things like bullying and homophobia under the carpet, (which happen almost all the time) what can come out of the carpet can be incredibly dangerous. Instead of sweeping things under the carpet, it is important that we bring them to the forefront and talk about it. And instead of saying, 'such things happen', we should say 'such things shouldn’t happen', these are things that we should be vocal about. For me, that was the primary thing that I found really intriguing.”
Delving deeper into the psychology of the character and the way it has been etched on the screen, he said, when issues such as these are left unaddressed, they tend to heap a lot of pressure on the minds of the victims. It scars them and when they retaliate, they do it in a way which people might not even think about in the wildest of their nightmares! Therefore, the film didn’t have a black and white approach to it, things were dealt with in a way which was absolutely out of the blue. He contended, “Instead of a very black and white approach to it, (In a way which we expect) what I liked about the script is it happens in a way, you don’t expect. There is no black and white, it is all grey. The point that Vandana tried to make when someone is constantly victimised and then they become the victimiser, they won’t do it in a way that is honourable or moralistic. They might end up reacting in ways you do not expect at all. For me, that is what made the script interesting. It wasn’t done in a way which was completely unexpected.”
'Noblemen' has just released on NETFLIX and is already garnering a huge response on the OTT platform. Shedding light on how the OTT platforms are a boon for actors and directors and how films that have a restricted release or films which have a niche audience can actually benefit from an OTT platform, Kunal said it is exciting to have such platforms that allow creativity in any form to be showcased to people wanting to see it. He asserted, “I think as a creative person, it is the most amazing thing that has happened. Whether you are a filmmaker or an actor because firstly you have a chance to tell stories that you would never have had a chance to tell otherwise. There are different people who enjoy different kinds of stories, it is exciting to have these platforms to put these stories out on and secondly even as an actor, there is a chance to discover a character through a couple of seasons which films don’t allow you because of the limitation of time. In a web series, you can’ get into the character and discover a lot more about them in terms of who they are and why they are in a certain way, which films obviously don’t allow you! And finally, for films like Noblemen which will not get your mainstream theatrical release because it is a niche film. It is talking about something that would reach a huge audience and it is in English, so it is obviously going to get a small theatrical release for a limited amount of people but on an OTT platform, it gives the movie the chance to reach out to so many more people which I think is fantastic.