He is the Kallu Mama of Bollywood! Saurabh Shukla, who essayed this classic role in Satya, is adored by all movie-buffs. An actor par excellence, Saurabh has donned the roles of a director and a scriptwriter with ease as well. And now, he is the Director Of The Month on UTV World Movies. Four movies of his choice will be screened on the channel on the 50 Movies To Watch Before You Die series.
“I have chosen four of my favourites from different countries — the Japanese movie Kikujiro, Sean Connery’s The Name Of The Rose, an Australian film called Lucky Miles and a Palestinian film Paradise Now.” So which is his favourite amongst the four? “It was already tough to choose these four amongst the thousands of favourites I have,” he laughs.
Saurabh admits there was a time when he would watch at least two films a day. “Only now, the number of films I watch has reduced slightly because of my work schedule.”
Ask him what else does he do in his free time and he says, “I have turned my hobby into my profession. So whether I am working or on a break, I either watch movies or talk about them.” The last film Saurabh saw was The Hurt Locker. “It’s an extremely masculine film made by a woman. It’s interesting to see a woman’s psyche of a man’s world.”
Amongst the various roles he’s portrayed in hit films like Bandit Queen, Taal and Lage Raho Munnabhai; Kallu Mama in Satya is one of his favourites. “That’s been the most famous role I have played. Even the film worked on a much larger scale,” he says. About his role of a cop’s assistant in Slumdog Millionaire, he says, “That was a great experience too. The role was subtle and I felt like I was reacting to my own thoughts.”
After Raat Gayi Baat Gayi, which released recently, two more of his directorial ventures will release soon — I Am 24 and Pappu Can’t Dance Saala.
Recently, Saurabh also conducted a screenplay writing workshop at IIT Madras. “I told the students to write two scenes a page each. I have collected 500 scenes now and am selecting and arranging these to make a film. It’s a thriller and once the scripting is over, hopefully it can release commercially.”
Saurabh admits making films was always his dream. “I’ve had this dream since I was in class six. I became an actor and a writer only because I wanted to direct.” What if he wasn’t into films? “I can’t imagine not acting or writing. I probably wouldn’t have been born,” he laughs as he signs off.
