The story of an accidental actor

Vasishta N Simha on how theatre helped him become the actor he is now

I am an accidental actor. I was pursuing my BCA in National College, Basavanagudi, when I got a chance to act in a play. National College has a special place reserved for theatre. Stalwarts like Vishnuvardhan, Srinath, Kumarsawamy, Arjun Sarja and Ramesh Aravind — all students of the institution — have left their imprints in cinema. Thanks to their work, the college is known for its strong base in performance art.

I was a sort of ‘dada’ in college and not many would talk to me. It was during an inter-class theatre fest, when I was walking in the corridor, I heard one of the students, who walked past me, pass a sly remark saying there some students come only to waste their parents’ money and don’t have any creativity or intelligence to act on stage. I knew that this comment was directed at me because there were only two of us there at that time. I don’t know what got to me but I quickly rushed to my class and got a bunch of students to give in their names for theatre. None of them were happy but I insisted on our participation in the theatre fest that year. I was determined to prove the those guys wrong.

I didn’t know anything about theatre. My friend Vinay, a theatre artist, helped me zero in on a play called ‘Hudukata.’ The play had three characters — an astrologer, a scientist and a narrator. It was a play within a play, a unique concept that was not explored before. It proved to be challenging.

That year, in 2009, I ended up directing and acting in that play. It won a prize. It was an overwhelming experience for me because I didn’t know anything about theatre and ended up winning an award. Some of the participants in the play also won awards.

The whistles, claps and appreciation gave me the confidence and inspired me to act in more plays. I worked in about 10 plays after that, including a play called ‘Mayamruga’ in which I played the role of a graveyard keeper. It was staged at Ranga Shankara and I was complimented for my role and people seemed to have loved my voice.

Soon, I found myself being flooded with offers to act in plays, and lend my voice to a few movie tracks as well. It was at this time that I completed my MCA and joined an IT company.

I reserved my weekends for theatre but found it hard to balance work and theatre. I realised that my passion truly lay in the latter.

I quit my job and decided to pursue theatre.

I spent a couple of months with some of my friends who were in theatre and learnt the basics.

I did two films during this phase, ‘Hubbali Hudugaru’ that didn’t release and ‘Arya’s Love’ that did moderately well. I got my first big break in ‘Rajahuli.’ There was no looking back since then.
I have had 16 film releases so far and none of them resemble each other.

I make a conscious effort to choose scripts that are not repetitive and those that give me the chance to explore more of the actor in me.

Films like ‘Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu’, and yet-to-release ‘Kalachakra’, apart from ‘KGF:Chapter 1’, have given me the opportunity to prove my acting skills.

I don’t work in films just because I got the opportunity but have made concerted efforts to choose them. I want to be responsible for the films that I work on. I also don’t work on anything, unless I am convinced about the script and why I am needed in it.

In my latest film, ‘India vs England’, releasing on January 24, I play an NRI vlogger, who travels the world, exploring the food, culture and the life of the local people living in that region. He decides to travel to India and what happens after he arrives and during his stay here forms the rest of the story.

I am grateful that I have had the chance to work with Nagathihalli Chandrashekar. I envy his knowledge, not just as a director, but he’s someone you can learn a lot through a simple conversation. This film has opened up new perspectives for me.