Having won critical acclaim for his role as the treacherous, pathetic Khurram in Vishal Bharadwaj's Haider, Kay Kay Menon, 48, has put himself in the league of unconventional, serious actors such as Irrfan and Manoj Bajpai. In an interview, he touches upon life after Haider and offers his view of the Hindi film industry to Vivek Tandon.
Q: After Haider, what?
A: There are three other films: Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet set in 1960s, Bombay; Baby, directed by Neeraj Pandey, starring Akshay Kumar and Saat Uchakey, a kind of heist film in which I'm teamed up with Manoj Bajpai. If it were not for Manoj's brilliant performance in Satya, actors like Irrfan and me might still be staring at the ceiling and waiting to be accepted. Manoj opened the doors for us.
Q: What is your approach to the art of acting?
A: You need to dissolve your personal ego, to completely surrender. Today, doubling or tripling your ego on screen is called acting. Actually, that's just posing or boasting. Also, I'm not a great believer in research, unless I'm playing a historical character. For me, research lies in the interaction with the director, the writer and the text. Form emerges out of this interaction.
Q: What do you think defines stardom?
A: Pure charisma and sheer acting ability. Amitabh Bachchan is the one legitimate super star: he was not a media creation. People used to flock to the theatres purely on the strength of his name, not just media hype. I've worked with him. His commitment and work ethic would put you to shame.
Q: What do you think of the three reigning Khans today?
A: I respect Aamir (Khan) a lot. He's not a slave to his stardom. Aamir doesn't just rely on his body, but his body of work. When I look at films he's done in the past 4-5 yrs, his intent is to make films for posterity. For too many people, it's to get three days' worth of business. When you make films for posterity, you'll get your three days of business.
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