'TV shows give me freedom'

Wise MAN

Sixty-six year old Benjamin Gilani has many facets to his personality – actor, calligrapher, former lecturer, theatre personality and many more.

Known for his roles in Mirch Masala, Alaap, TV serials such as Sahib Biwi Gulam, Junoon and Tara, Benjamin is now coming up as a host of an education-based quiz show Disney Q – The Family Mastermind. The quiz show will have families with its youngest member leading his/her team.

 “TV shows give me freedom to be myself. However, considering the format here, it was essential to keep the tone in check and since I was working with families, I had to ensure they were comfortable,” he shares with Metrolife.

“Quite a few families participating haven’t faced camera ever before, so it is natural for them to feel intimidated with the setting. That is where I step in and make them feel at ease,” he adds.’’

While he has worked for all the mediums and with big names like Shyam Benegal, Basu Bhattacharya, Ketan Mehta, Benjamin has always been very selective. Why? “I have always done work that has excited me. I have never been the kind to do everything that is offered to me.”

About the current directors and films, he says a lot of interesting and new topics are being explored by young filmmakers. “It is heartening to see the variety of films being made today. What’s even more exciting is that audien­ces today do not differentiate between big and small films.

“Recent times have seen talented directors like Anurag Basu, Anurag Kashyap, Raj Kumar Hirani, Farhan Akhtar among others who are exploring interesting topics and making films that are both creatively and commercially successful,” says Benjamin, a postgraduate in English Honours from Delhi University and a graduate of FTII, Pune.
In 1979, he had started a theatre company, called Motley Productions with Naseer­uddin Shah and Tom Alter and they have performed the works of Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, Anton Chekov, Albert Camus and more.
Not only that, Benjamin has also been an English professor at St. Stephens College, his alma mater. Has he enjoyed teaching? “I was a student of Literature. Since I enjoyed studying these subjects, I felt like teaching them too. It was an educative and informative experience. What is heartening is that these students are as interested in learning as you are interested in teaching them.”

Currently Benjamin is also working on a feature film for the Madhya Pradesh Government. He’ll also be seen in Luke Kenny’s Rise of the Zombies as well.