Siddharth: If social media is not toxic, why do people opt for digital detox? -Exclusive! – Times of India
You are headlining a unique new show called Escaype Live. How do you feel about these new opportunities coming your way?
It’s a great time to be an actor in India. Earlier we had a passive existence where somebody had to think of you and for that they would have to first write something that works for you as an actor. There used to be big gaps as far as doing good work was concerned. I have been acting for 20 years and the biggest difference that has happened is that now irrespective of language, region, or distance, when you have a body of work that people know, then they write an interesting character that automatically reaches you. Earlier also good work would have come your way, but now the chances are higher.
What do you think has changed in cinema and entertainment of late?
There’s just so much content being made. The audience is now spoilt for choice. Between cinema and television, they have a whole gamut of content available to watch. And they can watch it on the move, on a holiday, wherever they are. And it gives them a lot of power to consume whenever, whatever they want to.
Do you think the availability of that ‘gamut of content’ has hurt the prospects of the big screen cinema experience?
That is not for me to comment on. A producer or distributor might have a take on it. As an actor all I can say is that earlier we could only run 100 meters, but now we can run 200 and 400 meters. If you’re good enough then you can even go for a decathlon. So, if you have the skillset and the craft then there’s way more work now than there was earlier. The paycheque is the same. Number of days you need to work is the same. The camera being used is the same. So, the actor doesn’t have to care where his work will be exhibited.
We are really spoiled right now in the sense that we get to have our cake and eat it too. We get not just better work, we get it from different avenues. And now we have work that goes beyond the conventional bandwidth and as craftsmen or artistes we have access to different kinds of audience.
I was very impressed by the script of Escaype Live and its universe created by Siddharth Tewary. When I finished the reading of the script, I immediately thought that this was a meeting of the minds. I kind of felt that in the India of today, India 2.0 as Siddhart Tewary calls it, you need content that has the ability to show a mirror to today’s audience. And Escaype Live does it beautifully. The role that he had me playing is the lead of the show. It’s a very contextual role. I love roles that find the context after the audience sees them.
As an actor, I have always identified as somebody who likes to create alter egos and likes to find real people that I have seen and to mime that for my performance. So, this Krishna Rangaswamy, this alter ego that I got offered by Siddharth Tewary is again a completely unique pot of tea for me as an actor. I have always worked in different languages. I like to speak the language like a local. I don’t believe that you can call somebody a South actor because he hails from the region. I speak Hindi, Tamil, Telugu like the locals. Krishna Rangaswamy is the first time I got to play a Kannadiga on screen. Being from Chennai, my proximity to Bangalore, my friends in the city, there was an added responsibility. Whichever demographic I have been asked to play I like to do a lot of research about the language, the culture, understand their motivation, how they feel about something.
Do you think the divide between North and South industries exists because of the language barrier?
I have been in the film industry for 20 years. If you look at my interviews during 2005-2006, I had said that, before we talk about crossing over to the West, why don’t you cross over within this country? There is so much that the audience is missing out because of the language barrier. I used to do three films at a time, one in Tamil, one in Telugu and one in Hindi. That time too, I would get asked what’s the difference. My answer has been the same; for an actor, there is no difference. You’re in front of a camera, performing for an audience. If the script moves you and the director guides you, it will make your performance. The difference is for the audience, how it’s perceived. And those differences are now less consequential.
Some 15-20 years ago, when the films would go abroad, they would not allow subtitles saying the Indian audience abroad would get distracted by them. From that kind of a mind-set to today accepting subtitles, it’s good that the content now gets viewed beyond those barriers. Most of my films have been dubbed in all South languages. And now Escaype Live is also available in multiple languages.
South films dubbed in Hindi are being received well in traditional Hindi markets, but when Hindi films are dubbed in South languages, they don’t do well. What do you think could be the reason?
You’ve referred to a two-pronged argument. The first part is that it only started happening now in a consistent way. For anything to happen, there will be barriers to entry. Those barriers are created consciously or subconsciously by the industry itself, not by individuals. Because the industry itself is a moving corporate being. Now that they are seeing returns, I think the progress will be much more. So, again in five years, Hindi films will be dubbed in the South and if one completely takes off, then more Hindi films will start finding an audience. I don’t think we know all the outs. We are in an infancy stage right now. India is a very diverse country with many languages.
Go on…
Even in the South, you can get numerous variations in language with every 100 kilometres that you travel. In that respect, people from the South have been coming together for years. So, lots of South films have the synergy where Tamil films go to Telugu, Telugu films go to Kannada. It’s a great time because, for example, a linguistic film or a regional film comes out and goes national, not that it’s a new trend, that used to happen earlier too. Mani Ratnam sir did it with Roja and Bombay. It depends on the filmmaker and in the times that the filmmaker is making the film. Sometimes, a filmmaker can only be as good as the time he is in. I think these are very conducive times for people to look beyond their core language audience and start making stories that cross the language and culture divide. Ultimately, we are all Indians and the core emotions are universal.
How important is social media in today’s times?
Social media is as much a boon as a bane. Any tool in modern civilization comes with good and bad in equal parts. Social media is developing at a much faster speed than the development of the controls that are needed for it. I think every individual needs to make that call whether they want to or don’t want to be a part of social media. I think it is dangerous to say that everybody must be on social media and must deal with whatever consequences arise. Individuals must protect themselves. And I am very concerned that our children are not particularly being protected from social media. I have been discussing how we can put safety measures and ways to orient children into the social media as opposed to throwing them into the deep end.
You have an outspoken social media personality. Quite often that can irk the netizens. How do you deal with the trolls?
An individual must learn to self-preserve. Nothing in your world happens without it taking a little bit of you from you. I think you should be able to measure how toxic your life is becoming because of this influence. There’s a reason why they call it social media detox. Because, if it is not toxic, then what are you being detoxed for? There’s a toxic element to social media.
If I think social media and its users are invading into my mental space and calmness and way of looking at the future, I step back. I do that as and when it’s possible and come back. That’s how the world usually works.
What can we expect from your upcoming projects?
I have four releases waiting for their destiny. We have been through two and a half years of ‘ganne ka ras’ (excessive churning of sugarcane to extract it’s juice) situation. Individual industries have taken their own time to come back to normalcy. We’re still not there yet. Different regions are reacting differently. So, I have two theatrical releases in the South this year. I have just finished producing a film.
For me, it’s exciting to break away from the tension of, being a lead actor in an industry and having certain expectations, with the costing of your film done in a certain way. In the middle of all this when I get to come to Hindi, which gives me a completely different role like Escaype Live, it becomes very interesting to kind of balance both those worlds.
What’s going to excite the audience in Escaype Live?
Escaype Live is India’s most massy web series. Till now, web series have been called niche, educated and cerebral. This one is extremely massy. It will not just address the least common denominator but also all the way up to the intellectuals. It’s a very vast piece of writing. And I am very proud to headline this cast because there’s such talent on show.
This show is a cross-section of a very complex, diverse country and it shows a mirror not just to society, but it also becomes very important to understand where people are coming from, in small towns and cities. How technology is binding them. How much control they’re losing over their lives by submitting to this technology. It talks about both the positive and the dark side. So, it’s a very wholesome addressal of what the issue at hand is. I can’t wait to see the debates and the conversations that are going to start because of this show.
You took time to decide on the project that you will debut with on OTT.
OTT has given me exciting things to do with my characters. In a film you are addressing a two and a half hours exposure. Here, you are addressing a nine-hour exposure. So, you are creating many more details about the character. It becomes more intimate. It’s almost like you’re reading a book while watching the film. I had received many offers but I choose my work for a very specific reason. Firstly, I need to enjoy watching the content. Secondly, I should see a challenge in playing that character that I have not done so far. And thirdly, I should get something to learn. This is my trifecta of why I do a film.
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