Mayank Shekhar: The inherent sauciness of Sanjay Mishra

Actor Sanjay Mishra is only two years older than Salman Khan He looks much older of course Whats common between him and Salman something hes shared with the superstar as well is the several times both have found love in life which is of course better than neverMishraji born in Darbhanga Bihar raised in Varanasi UP educated at the National School of Drama Delhi whos worked professionally in Mumbai says hes inevitably ended up attracting or being attracted to English type women By which he refers not to the British but to Indian urbane Anglicised women basicallyOne such date he gifted a Lucknawi kurta on their first nightout to a fancy restaurant That chikan kurta would be incomplete without some postdinner paan they picked up on the way back While in his fancy car the woman didnt know what to do with the beteljuice bottling her mouthSimple he explained Adorably theth rustic as Mishraji is he spat out the peek red juice from his mouth right across the backseat to the window next to her Except the window wasnt rolled up Her kurta got totally stained He dropped her home and Im sure left for his ownWhat does this anecdote that Mishraji tells me in conversation before a packed hall in Kanpur that had come down to watch him despite the World Cup and Wimbledon finals the same night instantly reveal about this 54yearold popular actorThat fame especially attained relatively late might not so easily be able to diminish an inherent earthiness and most importantly supreme confidence over who one really is in Mishrajis case a purbi Eastern rangmanchiya as he describes himself treating life as theatre and absolutely everyone in it at any point an audienceMishraji has been around in Mumbai since 1991 This is when he joined the TV series Chanakya screwing up his first day at work so badly that he had to give 28 takes for his first shot at which point even the director left him alone to figure it out Ever since audiences have seen him gradually prove his mettle in bit or relatively bigger roles in films Satya Bunty Aur Babli and television as commentator Apple Singh during 99 World Cup or in popular shows like Sorry Meri Lorry Office OfficePublic acceptancevalidation can be as unpredictable as its inexplicable sometimes For few may recall the Rohit Shetty comedy All The Best 2009 But absolutely everyone remembers his line delivered like a cross between villains Pran and Jeevan Dhondu Just chill What does that even mean NothingThe film that will mean a lot more to audiences much after hes gone is in fact Rajat Kapoors Aankhon Dekhi 2014 that happened to him only when he turned 50 It opened a gateway to lead roles for him even rewardingly contrasting ones sometimes He says In Aankhon Dekhi I played a man who wont believe anything until he sees it In Kadvi Hawa 2017 on climate change I couldnt see anything was blind but could feel enough to warn against an impending fateThe actual turning point in Mishrajis life as he puts it happened when he had a healthscare in his late 40s that inevitably got him to face mortality more closely given his father passed away soon after Frankly Mishraji is the most woke human Ive ever met always in character who ironically also argues for everyone to simply jage raho stay awake and nothing elseIts a hard thing to do especially in an inwardlooking showbusiness where talent is wholly subjective achievement is constantly measured against someone elses theres always the other doing better than you perhaps undeservedly so hierarchies change every few weeks ambitions a bitch and can drive one towards consistent selfdestruction At any rate everybodys existence seems designed towards being a perennial struggler no matter what the intangible successrateUntil recently after being around for over two decades Mishraji himself wouldve been termed a struggler in an industry with a traditional class system where anybody whos not a star is supposed to be a character actor as if lead actors dont play characters they probably play themselves Sure thats changing But Mishraji looks talks chats the same way Maybe this has something to do with the fact that hes always seen himself as living the life of a kalakaar artiste rather than an actor aloneHe plays the sitar composes music paints cooks writes poetry has been a prolific photographer assisted on cinematography been an artdirector directed a feature filmhellip The fact that he cant be himself because of fame scares him shitlessIt shouldnt If acting doesnt quite work out spiritual guru could still be an alternate profession among several to choose from By the way Shirdis Sai Babas is the one role he really wants to play on screenMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture He tweets mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest 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