Vivaan Shah realised that acting is what he was born to do but admits that he still rebels against it.
Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah’s son who managed to make people sit up and take notice with his debut film has a mind of his own. He speaks to CS about his foray into acting, love for theatre and his dual personality.
Who: Vivaan Shah
What: On his love for acting and theatre
Where: At his residence in Bandra
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Two sides to it
I never wanted to get into acting. I guess that was because it was expected of me. Of course, I was always fascinated by the world of acting as both my parents are actors. I loved going for my parents’ plays. But that fascination was at a very basic level, not intense like it is now. I was studying to be a software designer, dropped out of it and pursued other interests. My career was in a state of fluctuation. I was interested in so many things and then Vishal Bhardwaj gave me the opportunity to act in his film. That was a blessing because then I realised that acting is what I was born to do. But that doesn’t mean I don’t rebel against it still. It’s a sort of duality that exists in me. There’s a side of me that doesn’t want to be a part of the rat-race and another side, that wants to do my best in it.
It’s all stage-d!
Theatre has always been a part of the bargain. It’s result oriented and very different from acting in films. It is what comes from the guts when you’re up on stage. There’s a lot of truth in it. I’m not saying that films don’t have any truth to them but in theatre, the process is more important. I enjoy being on stage. It’s a blessing I got into it and I have to make the best of it. Working alongside my father on the stage is a superb experience.
On my own
My parents will always try and influence me about the kind of work I should take up. But ultimately I take my own decisions. There have been instances they have told me to do something and I have gone and done the opposite of that. End of the day, I want to do meaningful cinema but I don’t think I have the luxury of being picky and choosy as there is so much competition in this field. Even cricketers would like to play one-day matches, but they have to play test matches as well. I want to do good work and make my parents proud of me.u00a0
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