Deepak Dobriyal is a man with many faces. He is one of the most versatile yet the most underrated actors in the industry. You may call him by names like Thapa from Maqbool, Rajoh Tiwari from Omkara, Pappi bhai from Tanu Weds Manu franchise, Shyam Prakash from Hindi Medium and Usman Langda from Baaghi 2, Dobriyal has always had something new in his kitty to offer.
In a candid tete-a-tete with International Business Times India, Dobriyal spoke at length about his salad days, his upcoming films, why he admires big stars and the changing trends in the Hindi cinema.
Tell us about your upcoming films - Kaamyaab and Kaptaan
Kaamyaab talks about the hardships, the struggles of a junior artist who has been working in the entertainment industry for a very long time. He was often ignored or rejected by industry people but despite facing continuous rejections, he wrote carved his own path of success in the world of A-listers and made name for himself. It's the story of his passion, his dedication, his madness and his emotions. He has done 99 films as a junior or supporting artist and now he wants to make something special to mark the century. Versatile actor Sanjay Mishra is playing the character of that junior artist and I play the role of a man who helps him fulfil his desires throughout his journey.
How was it working with versatile actor Sanjay Mishra?
We both enjoyed a lot working together. It was fun. It was one of a kind of a role and I enjoyed a lot portraying it on screen and we had a very good chemistry together on the sets. And the outcome had come out really very good. When we saw the scenes while dubbing for the movie, we felt that yes we have successfully achieved the concept of what we wanted. And it will definitely touch the audience's hearts when they will witness the journey on screen.
About Kaptaan
Kaptaan is a film by Navjot Singh who made films like NH10 and Manorama. It's a period film which tells the story of a commander. We are currently shooting in Rajasthan and for the past 5-6 months, we have been shooting the film. It was a tough shoot that I have ever done in my life as we had to shoot in extremely hot conditions. It will give the audience a tour of a never seen before Rajasthan as we have been shooting in many different and beautiful locations in the region. It will definitely be a visual treat. For obvious reasons, I won't be able to talk much about my role in the film but I can tell you that I play a character who helps people get to certain locations in exchange of some money.
What is that thing you miss doing in today's time in Bollywood?
I started off my career doing theatres and I did that for 7 years at the initial stage in Delhi. When I got my first film, I really enjoyed spending time in that environment and getting involved with the entire unit. It was a very creative environment where we constantly used to search or look for different characters, finding new ways of portraying it in front of the camera. I really miss this kind of environment in today's time. You now get a lot of work as compared to early times but you miss doing all these things in the process of quickly finishing your project. This I feel is the biggest disadvantage of today's time. Instead of focusing on your role, people do things in which they feel it will benefit them the most. They treat it like just another project.
Earlier, there was a different kind of excitement among the unit like 'oh where is the shoot location, oh okay Rajasthan, cool we will do it this way or that way.' Today it's like 'oh we have to go to Rajasthan, and they are paying us less money, asking to dedicate more days of work' and all. People tie themselves with time. Earlier, it was like if we are shooting for a month but still, we need another month, it was fine. So that dedication I feel somewhere is missing today in the industry.
And today its like we are not even getting good roles to work on. If you have done certain kind of role be it comic or negative or romantic, you keep getting the same roles again and again. People keep doing 8-10 films in a year doing the same thing but honestly, it doesn't interest me at all. I do 1-2 films in a year because I want to play different characters every time.
You had said that producers wanted you to work for free for them. Why did they put such a condition?
Its like you know when you work for somebody for free, they keep showering praise upon you and the moment you start charging money, they somehow start ignoring you. This weird thing is there in the industry. It used to happen but it is also understandable that you cannot work for free everytime right. If an actor is willing to do it for free, it's his/her choice. I do work for less money or free for a new person who is making his/her first film or a short. I think I probably would be one actor who asks more money from big shot people and less from small-time ones. I have been following this for the past 10-12 years. Maybe because of this thing you tend to upset a few people in the industry. This used to happen a long time back. Big shot people used to think like they are doing some kind of favour to me by offering a role in their films saying, "hum to tumhari life bana rahe hai (we are making you a fortune)". I really hate this kind of behaviour from them.
How did you take this unusual behaviour?
It takes time for any newcomer to learn certain things about how the industry functions. There is no black or white over here. I don't blame anyone because even I have made mistakes. You learn everything single thing with time. In some situations, you openly accept your mistakes. With me, it was like I used to get upset very quickly when these things used to happen to me. But then I made myself strong and made myself durable enough to let go of things and then I started treating it like a friendly game. When you are a struggling actor, it happens during the initial stage.
What kind of struggle you had to go through?
There was a scarcity of roles at that time. Everybody was in their own world and it was like why would anybody offer you a role. I just used to go wherever the auditions and screen tests were happening. There was no other way. No PR, No manager nothing. I didn't know anybody in the industry then. The only time I interacted with industry people was during auditions.
How is the perception of industry people towards you now?
People's perception towards me has always been good. However, there are some people who are still living in the past. There are still in touch but the thing is the demands of roles that I want to do is different from what they are offering me. So, we are facing difficulties to be on the same page. There is a lack of acceptance with them. The new people are approaching me with new and different ideas. So, I am using that opportunity to experiment with my abilities and create something new.
How do you bring versatility in every role you portray on screen?
The thing is I still spend a lot of time with common people and stay in touch with them. I keep talking to them frequently. It helps to build and understand the character more precisely and when you bring that real-life behaviour into your role it adds the raw and rustiness to it. It's because of that you really get engaged with that character. Audience easily accepts and relate to it because it makes you feel the character on screen is someone among them and feel entertained as well. And the most important thing about these characters is the reaction timing. What happens with most of the actors is that they shy away from spending time with real people. And when they do that, their reaction timings remain quite messed up. It develops when you keep sharing your thoughts with people. So instead of feeling sympathetic, you feel empathetic towards the character. That is what I follow and do in real life.
During your salad days, did you ever come to a point where you thought you want to change your profession from acting?
No, no. Never. That is what I had in my mind that I am going to sail in the same boat even if I keep getting small roles or theatre or anything, I will continue to be an actor no matter what. Many of my friends, who were with me during the salad days, changed their professions. Some started investing their time in real estates, some took up direction, some became writers, some started producing films but I remained firm with my decision. And let me tell you that acting is that zone where you can do anything, anything. If you do understand acting, you can do any job at par excellence because it lets you understand the basic human behaviour. You tend to understand any situation, emotion with a snap of your fingers. This is the most enjoyable thing on earth and that is why I am here in this industry. If I wanted to earn only money, then I have lots of ideas to convert into big bucks. But I don't want to do that because I feel I may miss some good roles in that process. And that's why I want to stay as an actor only. I wanted to become an actor ever since I stepped my foot on the stage when I was doing theatre. My journey as an actor began from that stage.
If you are given a choice between theatre and cinema, what would you choose?
I like to work in cinemas now. Cinema gives you an endless freedom to try and experiment with your character. There is a lot of commitment in theatre, unlike cinema. You have to keep walking on the same line drawn by the writer. In cinema, you can use your own philosophies and drive your imagination to the limits. And I use this freedom with responsibility keeping the story, writer's perception and direction's vision intact. So, I really enjoy this thing when you execute your things with everyone's approval and becomes effective. When I did theatre for the initial seven years, I did theatre only. I didn't think of anything else. People keep juggling with theatre and cinema but I never believed in that transition. Now, I only think of cinema because it also helps you earn a living. And you also become a bankable actor who would work hard to bring back the producer's money that went into the making of a film. In theatre, you work with an emotional approach, while in cinema you follow the professional approach. That is the difference.
Is there always a pressure to bring back producer's money?
It's about your own commitment to your projects. I really like the way these big stars handle this pressure of being bankable all the time. I admire them. For example, if someone is putting high stakes on you and when you bring back that money with profit, you feel good, your producers are happy as it turns out to be a good deal. So the approach they follow, the pressure of keeping their names as bigger brands that will attract the audience in theatres like magnets is really commendable. And it wouldn't be wrong to say that big stars work doubly hard than actors. People may or may not be happy with their approach but it's the reality. They are the ones who guarantee that my face value will bring people to theatres.
Audience's taste has changed a lot over the past few years. People have started appreciating good content cinema. What do you have to say about this major shift in the industry?
Yes, this change of thought process is very good all the artists and I would credit the world cinema and the online streaming platform Netflix which allows users to easily access to good and quality content to watch. They are the ones who are responsible for this major shift in the audience's taste. They brought that certain kind of confidence in artists who have now started believing in their skills and abilities and are not afraid to tell different stories, entertain people and at the same time earn money as well. Not everyone can be a star. The issue is everybody wants to bring a star for their projects but there are only a handful of stars in the industry. They cannot work in every movie as the industry churns out as many as 150 movies every year. They will work in 8-12 movies but what about the remaining 140 movies? What will happen to them? So they try to focus on their art and content to guarantee a hit. Even producers who cannot afford a star's fees, depend totally on good content and make money. So this shift is really heart-warming and welcoming. Artistes who used to wait for years after getting a green signal from producers or directors have started taking up different projects in the meantime brush up their skills. That's why they don't shy away from doing small budget films.
Does that mean that it has become easier for new actors to step their foot into the industry?
The struggle is always the same. Everyone has to work hard. But the thing is that the skeleton of a variety of work is ready for newcomers today. They have more choices compared to earlier decades. But it's not like that they will get work more easily. They will have to equally work hard for it. But at least they have a variety of things to do that we didn't enjoy in our time. As many as 50 people used to gather to audition to grab that one role. We had to go through many audition levels but now new actors easily get casting calls and get finalized as well. So getting roles is not a big challenge in today's time.
