Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor lament paucity of good scripts over Asian meal

Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor enjoy an Asian meal at Joss picssatej ShindeThe term good friends when used often tends to lose its meaning mdash a phenomenon all too common in the film industry But there is a friendship that goes back to ones salad days and decades later if theres still candour aligned sensibilities and endless laughter flowing over a shared love for sushi it has perhaps stood the test of timeMeeting Rajat Kapoor and Vinay Pathak over lunch at Joss in Santacruz is just that except that you dont feel like the odd one out between two best buddies They take you along on the ride cracking you up giving you toucheacute moments and serving you like gracious hosts Theres applause for the chef as he completes the theatrical serving of his signature dessert and a young fans request for a photograph lovingly obligedThe two have also been longtime collaborators and have forged a career in films and theatre that agrees with their worldview While Pathaks upcoming film Khajoor Pe Atke is a dark comedy Kapoor has decided to take the crowdfunding route for his directorial venture RKRKay The artists speak of staying true to their work and what it takesSnigdha How did you come to collaborate over so many projects Rajat We were friends before we started working together It was sometime in 1995 that Vinay had moved to Bombay from New York We were a group of five to six people and none of us had work So we used to hang out a lot cook and watch movies together Our first collaboration was the play C for Clowns that I was making and we never stopped Its rare to find people and actors as generous as Vinay So for me there is no reason not to work with him In fact I seek out joyous times to spend with him Vinay When we met there was an international film festival going on and there were so many movies I watched for the first time mdash Pulp Fiction a Fellini retrospective These are films that left a great impact on me for I didnt have much knowledge of cinema It was these guys who taught me all about it I would ask Rajat so and so is asking me to work with him and he would say No dont be sillySnigdha How much have films and theatre evolved since the time you startedRajat I am not sure if cinema has done well for itself in these years but theatre sure has In the last 10 years there is a huge growth in theatre audiences and especially in cities like Raipur Guwahati and Bhopal Conspicuous consumption is driving people to spend which is good for theatre Any show at Prithvi goes housefull which is quite encouraging But its not become any easier for an independent film Crowdfunding is not the best way of doing things its a desperate way And thats the tough part looking for money and waiting for it Otherwise everything else about filmmaking is enjoyable Vinay Ditto hai ji Theatre was never mainstream but in the past few years it has become so Its as if a new profession has emerged Most importantly the younger generation is aware of plays In our time unless you were trained in theatre you wouldnt know which plays are being made and who the artists are You see young talent launching productions left right and centre Even half the experimentation happening in theatre today mdash good bad ugly whatever it is mdash is not happening in cinemaRajat Having our face a little known is a boon Some people may come to watch a play because there is Vinay Konkona Ranvir and Kalki in it But then they get something else and still have a great time We are grateful for thatSawadee ka a pineapple and basil mocktail platters of assorted veg and nonveg sushi and dumplings and Burmese khow suey arriveRajat taking a sip Too much This doesnt look as good as it tastes I am going to dig in some of your veg sushi MazedaarVinay I know a lot of people who prefer veg sushi because they dont like fishSnigdha What are some of your favourite onset food memories Rajat In the last seven to eight years of travelling with our plays Vinay making green tea has become such a big ritual The whole team gathers at night and several rounds of tea in all flavours are served Vinay It brings a lot of peace to the heart We exchange our worldview and tales from our travels We recap and relive the whole experience of staging the playSnigdha Are good scripts hard to come byRajat To act in Yes writing in India is generally bad Vinay It is the most difficult part From an actors perspective the offers fortunately havent dipped But you like 15 out of 15 scripts After the success of Bheja Fry many people tried to make something similar an under onecrore project shot in one bungalow Our understanding of the small film is distorted Good cinema doesnt come from just the money and the setup but from good writing Its as simple as that Rajat But saying no to a script isnt an issue When you align yourself with a certain kind of sensibility its not difficult to say no to what doesnt match it We didnt come here to make films or do theatre for the money That it happened on the side is great but that was not our intentionQuick takesA thing you would like to change about the film industryRajat Except production and distribution everything is good Vinay Our film industry needs to be more daring than it claims to beArtistes you find promising Rajat In films Chaitanya Tamhane is someone I am excited about On stage Sheena Khalid Puja Sarup Jyoti Dogra Mohit Takalkar and Sujay Saple are doing great work Vinay Pankaj Tripathi is my new favourite in films What a delightful actor to watchMumbai isRajat A magical city It has really been the dream city for the rest of India just like America has been the aspirational place for the rest of the world Vinay For me the sense of wonder hasnrsquot diminished Catching a film being shot in Lokhandwala still fascinates meCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates