In An EXCLUSIVE Chat With Sandip Pal; Akshay Oberoi reveals Bombairiya Has Been His Most Collaborative Work Till Date

Akshay Oberoi is not your average Joe. In the film industry it is a rarity to find someone well-versed with the craft of filmmaking as he is. Akshay is cinema literate, someone who understands the semiotics of the medium. Having said that, there are actors who are gifted and work miracles in front of the camera without the said knowledge. But when one has it, the approach towards his craft improves and the ‘off the league’ comprehension of the entire set up manoeuvres his or her mind, body and soul to be true to the entire scenario - like life. It is not a mere makeshift anymore. This is what ups the game a zillion time and that is true for the American-born actor of Punjabi descent.

Given his looks which surely is a plus, the hazel-eyed actor has been time and again called “good-looking” by industry biggies, which again, shouldn’t come as a surprise! The lad who humbly refers to acting merely as his “job” earned his Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts and Economics at the John Hopkins University.

His training in the Meisner technique has equipped him more than ever to do what he loves to do. Even though the Ballet, Jazz and Hip-Hop student didn’t quite get his major box-office breakthrough, it has never dampened his enthusiasm. Playing a variety of characters, those that are compelling, Akshay proved that he has the mettle that is required to be a shining star on the Bollywood firmament. However, what is noteworthy is his willingness to hone his skills even more!

Earlier this week, HT Online Desimartini’s Sandip Pal got into a conversation with Mr Oberoi over the telephone, who will now be seen in an affable character in the upcoming film Bombairiya. Excerpts from the interview:

Akshay, you are not an Indian born. You were born in Morristown, New Jersey, United States, so how did this idea or the desire to become an actor in Bollywood stem in you? Was it because you had Vivek Oberoi (your cousin) working for Bollywood?

No, I wanted to be an actor long before Vivek.

Perhaps because of that, you pursued your bachelor’s degree in theatre and art and economics…

Yeah, that’s right! But it was later on was… tuned by him because when he came out, he did so well and his performances were really lauded. He just tuned it forward. There was already that passion to begin with. And I just came down to India because I wanted to get refreshed. My in laws stay in the US, my brother lives in Los Angeles. I used to come to Bombay every year for three months

Tell me a little about your stint with Prithvi theatre.

I worked with Makrand Deshpande. Recently he played my father in a film called Junglee that is coming out this April. When I showed up in Bombay after my training in US. I didn’t know who to meet, what to do and where to go and I just came to Prithvi theatre and continued doing theatre work. Because that’s all I knew. I didn’t know anything about the camera because I mostly studied theatre and I was just auditioned for acting jobs and the first film that came about was Isi Life Mein under the Rajshri banner. At that point in time, I was a nobody and they had given me my first job. That’s how it all began.

But Akshay, you have quite a cumbersome background as far as acting is concerned – after the Theatre Arts and Economics degree at the John Hopkins, you also completed acting training in Stella Adler in New York City and then you went on to the Playhouse West in Los Angeles so on and so forth. You’ve had a few extra ordinary performances to boast of in your kitty with some web series and some films as well. But do you think you have gotten your due? How is Bollywood treating you?

I get asked this a lot. But if you are asking me personally, I think this is the most special time ever because I am still around. My films might be critically acclaimed, people might appreciate them but at the end of the day they are not box-office validated movies. When that doesn’t happen, nothing happens. At the end of it all this is a business. You have to score at the box-office in order to be recognised for that work on that bigger scale. That just hasn’t come yet. But, that I am still around speaks volumes for the fact that I know my job. I am playing parts that I would never imagine playing. For instance, I am playing a Haryanvi Jatt in Gurgaon as well as in Laal Rang. I am doing interesting stuff and I am working on things which no one can hold against me. So, I guess, it will come when it will come. To be true I don’t even know what that due is because I am getting a chance to do what I love and run my house through that and I have no reason to complain. I am constantly working for the past few years, I have got four films releasing this year, some web series releasing too. So, whenever I get that big commercial break, it will be good but I am not worried about it. This is something I have come to terms with.

Akshay you were also trained in Meisner technique. As far as my understanding goes, it is about the getting out of your head so that you as an actor can behave instinctively to your immediate surroundings. Has it come to any help of yours in Bollywood and the kind of roles you have dabbled in?

I think Meisner technique is about simplifying acting as much as possible. Because when you are working constantly and then you get on set, you kind of throw it away. The Meisner technique reminds you that at the end of the day as long as you are present, as long as you are freely listening to your co stars and you have to respond to them and all the other work will figure their way out. That is what it it is. Meisner technique sums up all the techniques of acting.

Yeah, you have Stanislavski, you have Lee Strasberg -

That’s right. You have Strasberg, Chekhov. All of it is great material but Meisner kind of puts it all together. That’s why I like it. All of these helps. For instance, I worked with Sanjay Mishra on a film and something that I learnt working with him and watching the legend is that, he dissects the scene, backwards, forwards, upside down but when he gets on set all of that is out of the window and now, he says what he wants and does what he wants. I think that is the approach to it. You work on something constantly and finally let it go. That’s the key!

Besides your acting part, you are also trained in Jazz, Ballet and Hip Hop, aren’t you?

(Laughs) Yes, I am.

Do you get to incorporate all of that in your work?

I barely get to be a part of those films. There’s a film that I did called Chote Nawab, it had some dance sequences, Bombairiya has a song and dance routine coming in a couple of days and Kaalakandi has a little bit of it but nothing formal though. However, in my first film Isi Life Mein, I actually did a Ballet Jazz routine, but since you are asking this question - by and large, no. But, Chote Nawab will have one.

Since you do not intrinsically belong to the Bollywood milieu, where according to you does Bollywood and its films have a standing as far as world cinema is concerned?

You know, I always had this idealistic image that audiences will actually start connecting with the kind of content I wanted to watch. When people used to say, it is not possible at all, our mass audience has a different mindset, they have a different thought process, they like a certain kind of films, so on and so forth. But I think in the last one or two years what I said came to pass.  Because, look at the films that did well last year. You have AndhaDhun you have Badhaai Ho so on and so forth. Smaller films will newer concepts and not mega stars have really worked.

Even the web series for that matter…

That’s right. Bar code has been watched by almost 70 million people. Test case too was very successful. That’s what is happening and as that is happening, I am also getting a lot of work. I hope that one of these films turn around and one of the films I pick too does well so that I can keep working in the space I like to work in.

How was your experience working with an Indo-Brit production given the fact that white skin is definitely not alien to you?

(Laughs) True! I think filmmaking is all collaboration. That’s when creativity gets fostered to its best and my most collaborative experience till date was Bombairiya. When I first read the script and got to know about how good the character and how righteous he was. There wasn’t any sort of motive behind it and we worked on the crime fighting streak that the character has. And Michael (Ward) is a producer and a writer so he helped develop that with the director Pia and I just kind of imbibed it. I keep wearing my superman shirt and I do this crime fighting thing. It was like my day job! I am also fortunate that they worked with me and created this kind of a space.

Was it also very easy for him (Michael Ward) to work with someone who had a background with the west, someone who understood his body language and what he exactly wanted from a particular scene because working with someone who is not of the Indian origin becomes a little difficult especially in communicating ideas, so was it easy or difficult for you and more importantly for him?

That’s a good question. I think from an acting perspective no!  But on a personal level, Michael and I hit it off pretty well because I sort of got him and he got me. He is a foreigner, he is Scottish and I spend more than half my life in America. We hang out, have a glass of wine together because I have seen the western part of life as much as he has! Our lives have that balance and then we first met and I got the job!

How do you cull out your role in Bombairiya?

Bombairiya – Doesn’t it rhyme with Malaria, Lovairiya… Bombairya (Laughs). Well, my character is a very righteous character, he is a very good guy and he never goes against the system. He in fact wants to help the system. An idealistic and good-natured guy. It was very tough to play!

Was it? Given the certain amount of pleasantness your faces oozes anyway…

(Laughs) But it’s a character I really haven’t played. Especially because recently I have been doing a lot darker stuff. This guy is just a good person. I really hope it comes across. The genre of the film is comedy mystery. It is the first of its kind. But I hope the comedy works, because I haven’t quite been in tat space before. I haven’t done much comedic stuff.

How was it working with Pia Sukanya and Radhika Apte? (Given the fact that the two of them are excellent in the craft)

Absolutely! Powerhouse ladies. Actually, I have worked with four female directors. Pia is the fourth. Recently I have done a cameo in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga and that is with a female director as well. They direct differently and the kind of actor-director relationship you share with them is always different because they belong to the opposite sex. There is a certain sensitivity that female directors come up with which I like otherwise, these areas, are not tapped into quite often. Radhika is on top of her game. It is always great to work with good actors because you are as good as your co-star. The film has great actors, these are actors that don’t go wrong - Adil Hussain, Ravi Kishen, Radhika, Amit Sial. All are wonderful!

You have actually worked with a great bunch of actors in your oeuvre, haven’t you?

Yeah, that’s correct! I have worked with Randeep Hooda in Lal Rang, Saif Ali Khan in KaalaKandi, Pankaj Tripathi in Gurgaon and even in the webspace I worked with Swara Bhaskar, Nimrat Kaur.

I really have been lucky on that front. For instance, if I get to hear that Sanjay Mishra is in a project, I will say yes to it without thinking twice. I will do it just to work with him. I do that very often. That’s because I feel that I know I am going to earn something and, in the process, I am going to get better. So that when my time comes (The due that you were earlier talking about) I will be readier that anyone for it. And once I get that no one take that away from me.