JOIN USHe can be described as verbose but actor-turned-director Shekhar Suman is a humble human being at heart. An organ which finds prominence in his debut direction, Heartless, and even makes his own heart miss a beat as the film nears the release date and keeps him busy.
The actor-director says “the biggest question in my mind is, ‘will I be able to do it'?” adding , he is living an, “exciting phase of life which comes from being a creator!”
“There are so many levels of excitement and one of them is directing the finest actors – Deepti Naval and Om Puri,” he says as one asks him about his decision to cast his son in the upcoming film.
Referring to the “wicked industry”, he mentions that "It doesn't forgive even the biggest of stars. The industry is like the unforgiving world and Adhyayan had only one hit. He said he wanted to do on his own and did get Haal-e-dil, Raaz and Jashnn. Then he was waiting for the right role. Meanwhile, I was in the process of turning into a director so I decided to cast him.”
On the sets, however, Shekhar is both, “critical as a parent and encouraging as a director,” adding “But I try to dissociate myself and try avoid being a parent. I'm unrelenting and won’t say I’m happy till I am. I'm very impatient but I never compromise and, I often lose my cool, which is not a cool thing," he says. There is also the matter of his intriguing dual personality.
“I have not two but many sides if I analyse myself. But there are two distinct personalities. One is in the public domain , due to my profession and, the other is my being a parent or husband. The two are not juxtaposed and it is not difficult to maintain it since I am an actor.”
Having graduated to being a director now, he says he is able to “Concentrate on this. Direction is not rocket science. You have to be a good story-teller which I am, and Heartless is my way of telling a story. It is my perception of life,” he says adding that his transition has come at the right time and the subject is perfect even though he is known more for his comedy.
“Veteran actor Pran lived for 25 years on villainy but after Zanjeer people forgot everything he did. Shah Rukh Khan who played a negative role in Darr and Baazigar is today the most-loved actor in a romantic role. It is about how convincing you are in what you do. Coming from theatre, doing comedy was considered sacrilegious, yet I did serials like Dekh Bhai Dekh and Movers and Shekhars which was blasphemy! Yet, I wanted to explore the craft and the serials were not only accepted but were the biggest hits of my career.”
Since he was “Not happy with the kind of cinema being made,” Shekhar decided to “Go out and prove myself rather than sit on the good side of the fence! Now is the time to raise my finger and say this is my moment of triumph. My heart, soul, blood and sweat now wait for the verdict,” he says referring to Heartless which is, “straight from my heart.”