I’m 48 and still jobless: Amol Gupte

He may be just two films old, but Amol Gupte insists that he has no intentions of pursuing a full time career as an actor. This, in spite of the fact that he has proved his acting prowess. “I consider myself a film student and will always be one. I feel awkward when people say they want to see more of me on screen, but the fact’s that I can just about risk casting myself as an additional actor in my own film,” he confesses, adding, “The secret lies in casting a spell.”

While there were a lot of offers post-Kaminey, Amol didn’t want to bite into all that was offered to him. “Structured set-ups don’t interest me, but when Subhash Kapoor narrated Phas Gaye Re Obama to me, I was intrigued,” Amol recollects. Playing a politician was quite a challenge, considering that most politicians portrayed in Hindi films have ended up as either very vile or simply caricatures. “I wanted to make him as human and genuine as possible and there’s no referential point at all. If it’s got to be anyone, it’s me,” he states, adding, “Acting is not a job for me — that explains why at 48, I’m still jobless.”

Amol’s introduction to Bollywood with Taare Zameen Par may have been in news for all the wrong reasons, but his commitment to children remains undebatable. “My next film, Stanley Ka Dabba is also dedicated to them. Being an outsider to the industry is the easiest way to handle this. I realised that children are hardly treated with respect. That’s why Stanley… was shot at a leisurely pace of over a year. This musical dabba should be ready by next summer,” he signs off.