He hails from a sleepy village in Chattisgarh, confuses Deepika Padukone for Katrina Kaif and can't believe that he's now friends with Aamir Khanji.
He hails from a sleepy village in Chattisgarh, confuses Deepika Padukone for Katrina Kaif and can't believe that he's now friends with Aamir Khanji.
Folk theatre artist Omkar Das Manikpuri, who plays Natha in Peepli Live, might have had a background in theatre, but he had no clue what a film entailed.
His first day on the sets was utter chaos. "There were lights everywhere and people were shouting 'silence' and I didn't know what was happening. 
Thankfully it got better the next day," he tells us in his typical rural Hindi accent. He relives his first film with CS:
Act I
I've been a part of the Naya Theatre group in Bhopal for years now, and that's where Anusha Rizvi spotted me. I auditioned for the film and was selected. Never having done a film before, I didn't know what to expect. But I've come to realise that acting in films is a lot simpler than performing in plays. You have the luxury of forgetting dialogues and giving retakes. Theatre however is hard work!
Beginner's luck
My first day on the sets was a disaster. I was very nervous and had no clue about what was going on. Then my director explained to me that I just had to act like I would in a play and that made matters easieru00a0she was speaking my language. The mood on the sets lightened up too eventually. Everyone would make fun of me when they would see me in the gaon ka ensemble. We had a good time.
Khan't get better
When Aamir Khanji saw the film he was quite happy with my performance. He told me that he originally intended to play the character of Natha, but when he saw my audition he thought that I would do a better job. It was very encouraging to hear that. Even now, I can't believe that Aamirji is the star that he is, because he greets me so warmly every time he sees me. I've requested him to introduce me to Katrina, Deepika, Priyanka and Kareena. It will be great meeting people from outside my film unit too!
Mumbai nagariya
Life in Mumbai is very different from what I'm used to in my village. But I love this place. The roads are very easy to remember and I admire the rickshaw and cab drivers for their honesty. Even though I miss my family terribly, I wouldn't mind staying back for a while, just in case a good project came along.
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