I knew that catching hold of people in the gym and talking to them about work is going to back-fire some day. Not everyone would want to be intruded in their personal space. After all, the gym is a place for a person to work out and relax and not be disturbed about work. I was always aware of this but still wanted to take my chances. It was obvious that someone would give me a taste of the bitter truth some day. And it happened to be the ace director Sudhir Mishra!
I walked up to him in the lounge next to our gym where he was having a drink after his workout. He is one of those guys who have a strong, intimidating personality. It’s not easy to walk up to him and start talking. I had seen several guys in the gym saying “Hello sir” while he walked like a tiger in the gym sometimes acknowledging them and sometimes not. He is a tall man, not very fair but when I saw him, he had a glow on his face and was sweating from the workout! Strands of grey hair falling on his forehead!
“Excuse me Sir, may I speak with you for 30 seconds if you do not mind”, I asked.
“Well, I do mind being approached in the gym. It’s my personal space and I do not like to be disturbed”, he said.
I went blank for a second but I did have something to say – “I understand Sir, that is why I wanted to first take your permission before I started speaking”.
“Anyway, Go on..” he said. I decided to keep it very short this time – “I am a theatre actor and I have been performing for 3 years. I am looking for work in films and I want just 1 chance to audition for anything that you are working on.” I was nervous, and sweating and really scared. I wanted to make the best of this opportunity becasue it is not very easy to get to talk to a director as huge as Sudhir Mishra. He said exactly what I expected him to –
“Well, I am not doing anything right now. I don’t even know when or what I am going to do next. That’s not how I work. Whenever I am doing something new, I’ll post it on Facebook. You can have a look.”
I had no idea what to say next. To be honest, I was in a situation where I wanted to talk more and at the same time, just run away from there. So, I said “Thank you Sir” and left the lounge to proceed to my workout.
My next meeting was the next day (12th April) with Honey Trehan. Honey is a casting director who casts for major Bollywood (Hi-Fi, Hindi film Industry, Mumbai film industry, whatever you may want to call it!) films. His IMDB profile suggests that he has cast for almost all of Vishal Bharadwaj’s projects. I had sent him my pictures but having lost all hope that my pictures can get me any work, I had started approaching casting directors so that they can see me personally and let me know if I am fit for something they are casting for. I waited for Honey at the office he had called me to. I had asked him only for a couple of minutes and he had obliged.
He came out of the editing room for a smoke break and that’s when he met me. “Yes Dilip, tell me”, he said. Honey looked like a chilled-out guy but someone who would prefer things to be to the point. The way he greeted me and walked out with me to the smoking area for the little chat gave me a heads up about him and how I should talk. It was 2.15 pm. I told him about myself and that I wanted him to see and know me personally so that whenever an opportunity that I am fit for comes by, he can let me know. “I’ll forget all this by 4 today”, he said matter-of-factly!
Once again, I was stunned. I did not know what to say. What I really felt like saying was – “If you are going to forget me by 4, then I don’t deserve to be in films anyways!”. What I did say was – “Okay, so what should I do for you to remember me? A better portfolio?” He said, “I don’t need a portfolio. Just normal pictures of the way you look right now. That’s it!”. “Okay, is there anything you are casting for right now?”, I asked. “Right now, I need just one man – Milkha Singh! For Mehra..”, he said suggesting that he was looking for a guy to play Milkha Singh in Rakeysh Mehra’s next film. “Ok, I will send you my pictures. Please let me know if something comes up for me”, I said. We shook hands and I took off. He was done with his cigarette and went back inside.
These two meetings did not go as well as I wanted them too. I would have loved to get some work out of these. However, it was never going to be so easy. Someone had to give me a heads up saying “It’s a tough life!”. That’s not going to stop me though. I am on the lookout for my next director/casting director. Meanwhile, the gym is ON with the hope that it will lead me to a better portfolio!
Till the next one then…
Love and Regards…