NEERAJ KABI

There's a lot of opportunity on the web that you couldn't imagine some years ago. People are experimenting at a fast rate.

Adopting mannerisms is called mimicry. That is not a good way to do things. You don't start to imitate somebody, the way he walks and talks, that is a very irrelevant element of acting.

Every choice I'm making now is so that I can keep working for the next 30-40 years in this industry. These are not creative choices. These choices are to stay in the business, for many years to come.

I was waiting for a good show on Amazon and 'Paatal Lok' had all of it - good script, story, and cast. It joined all the dots beautifully.

I'm a self-taught actor, which means that I had to learn everything on my own, as I wanted to know the craft deeper and deeper.

Avenues opened right after I did 'Ship of Thesus' but doing films where there is big money involved or has big stars involved is not the reason I came to Mumbai.

I am not against doing commercial cinema at all.

The audience basically likes complex characters, and bringing out the complexities is the actor's job. The audience doesn't have the script, the actor does.

Actually, I came to Mumbai from Jamshedpur in 1991 to become an actor. I began searching for work and I was all alone and absolutely empty-handed, no craft and nobody that I knew.

I do work on stage as an actor. I do films as well. Television, I haven't done much.

I do not like to label the characters I am doing or even myself as a particular type of actor. I try to do different kind of roles which are not the same 'hero' or 'villain' kind.

You have to train yourself, think, contemplate, and work on your craft every day.

My biggest inspiration has been life for me. Basic survival has been my biggest teacher. Surviving in Mumbai for so many years has been a huge ordeal.

I'm not a method actor. The techniques that I follow have been created and practiced in my own journey, ones that I have researched, formed and invented.

If the way I've performed a scene isn't to the director's liking, I discuss it, try to understand why he doesn't like it, and incorporate the suggestions. But sometimes I also take a very strong stand.

Well, to tell you honestly, I am still waiting for much better roles. And I am slightly surprised that despite seeing the quality and hard work, the Hindi film industry is still not creating projects that I can be a part of.

I like characters that are complex. I don't like people who are simple to play and are either black or white.

But I'm very keen to work with directors such as Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akhtar, Farhan Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Abhishek Chaubey, Anurag Kashyap and Abhishek Kapoor.

There are many actors who have not been trained, but self-taught means one cannot be limited. It means you're continuously learning.

When you watch me on the screen, you should not be able to recognise me. If people say, you're a natural and an organic actor, that's an insult. If you're being yourself all the time on screen, that means you don't know how to act.

I remember watching 'The Lunchbox' that released around the same time 'Ship Of Theseus'. Both films found space in the independent cinema circuit. But at a personal level, 'The Lunchbox' is one of the favourite films.

I am confident that I am capable of leading projects, which are even complex.

I like to play Gandhi, but I've got tired of it, though not bored of it. I have to go through the physicality of losing weight.

The struggle is to sustain the quality. When I look at my work and the kind of responses I'm blessed with, I feel I need to do so much more.

I don't know if I can call myself the poster boy. But yes, I am fortunate that a lot of work that I did was on the web. It has definitely got me some really good roles and a great audience.