“Thaali to ab saji hai (the spread has been laid out now). Up till now, I had to make do with snacks.” Gajraj Rao came up with a new expression every time a journalist asked him about his experience in Badhaai Ho. One overheard this take when he was trying to add spark to a dull television interview after a long day when his colleagues had given up. Metaphorically, he was trying to explain to the young journalist, who had turned up with her list of fixed questions, how he was finally getting his due after a series of small roles. “I try to say something new. I don’t want my interviews to sound boring,” said Rao, looking for a nod of approval from her co-actor Neena Gupta. “Main theek karta hoon na (I hope this is the right way),” he asked as if they were still playing Jeetender and Priyamvada Kaushik, the cute couple of Badhaai Ho.
In the process, Rao slowly pushed his visiting card to remind one that he comes from an advertising background. An expression of his creativity, the card carried his address at Code Red Films, where he is the director, in the form of a story where a drunkard has come for an audition. As one looked back in admiration, Rao flashed that understated smile which is part of his arsenal that made him one of the scene-stealers of 2018.
Rao was noticed in Talvar as the incompetent UP police inspector but it was web series Bang Baaja Baarat that filled us with a feeling that he could be the new age father that the Hindi cinema has been looking for. This demand rises after every few years. There was a time when Anupam Kher emerged as the progressive on-screen father after Dilwale Dulhainiya Le Jayenge. Today, that template looks like a caricature. We need somebody who could portray the dilemma of moving between two generations and trying to make sense of both. And Badhaai Ho established Rao in that space. Rao gives credit to young writers and directors who are writing such characters. “There was a need for finding parents who had more to do than just asking, ‘beta, time se ghar aa jaana’ and ‘beta, khana kha lena.’ This year, I was not the only one. Annu Kapoor also gave a new dimension to the father’s character in Alt Balaji’s Home.” For Rao, the work on this space started with The Viral Fever’s sketch Tech Conversations with Dad. “Then I did a sketch with Ayushmann for the MAMI Festival and it was Ayushmann who recommended by name to director Amit Sharma. As it turned out, I knew Amit from the time he joined Pradeep Sarkar as an 18-year-old boy from Delhi.”
This took us back to his theatre days in Delhi. “It feels surreal as 23-24 years back Bombay felt very far off. I was part of a theatre group in Delhi. I realised very early that I didn’t want to spend my life like a struggling actor. I didn’t want to stand in a queue for a three-scene role. I didn’t want my family to suffer because of me. It was not that I didn’t want to do hard work but I felt it was demeaning to the art. I joined the NSD Repertory and was sure that if I kept earning 8-10 thousand rupees, I won’t go to Mumbai. I found a benefactor as well. He was an industrialist who used to come to watch our plays. He offered me a job of a supervisor in his garment factory and allowed me to devote as much time I would like to theatre. After a few days, I told him that I could do the role of a supervisor very well, but I can’t be one. I left the job and started doing freelance writing for Hindi newspapers. I didn’t want my family to face the humiliation of supporting a struggling actor.”
Visiting card
Gradually, he established himself as a writer as well and started writing anchor scripts. “This ensured that I didn’t need to play every role that was offered to me. I could pick and choose and that’s why you wouldn’t find me repeating myself.” Meanwhile, Sarkar noticed his work and took him to Mumbai. While working with him, he started making appearances in ad films as well. “It was in his office that Amit met me. When Ayushmann took my name, he immediately called me.” Talking about his first breakthrough performance, Rao recalls, “As I used to do theatre in my free time, Anurag Kashyap came to watch one of my plays and signed me for Black Friday. It was a small role, but made a great impact. It became my visiting card. I did small roles for Anurag and Vishal Bhardwaj because they have respect for my craft. I don’t want to be labelled as a bechara (helpless) supporting actor. That’s why there are gaps between my films.” Not any more? Neena Gupta chipped in, “Of course, now he has tasted blood.” “Maybe, but like my interviews, I would not like to repeat myself,” remarked Rao.
Diminishing romance
Neena Gupta looked at the incredible response to Badhaai Ho from the prism of diminishing romance in Indian families. “The film shows that romance has no age but what usually happens in Indian families, middle class or elite, is that the husband and the wife stop taking care of themselves after a certain age. They think that their life is over as far as sex is concerned. Whatsoever little romance is left reflects in the form of exchange of gifts. Krwachauth ki sari..or marriage anniversary ki ring.... Badhaai Ho tries to break this perception.” Gupta is known for making bold choices both in her personal and professional life. She said that the stories that came out of the Me Too movement didn’t her. “We all were aware of the harassment that women go through in different sectors. What the movement has achieved is that next time every man will think twice before harassing a female colleague. There was a time when the film industry was not considered safe for girls. My parents didn’t want me to move to Mumbai. But I did after I earned some money from Gandhi.”
This year, Gupta returned to mainstream space with impressive performances in films such as Veere Di Wedding and Mulk as well. “See, I made a mistake by agreeing to play a silly girl in Saath Saath. At that time, actresses were not supposed to do comedy. Girish Karnad had warned me that I was making a mistake. But I came from a theatre background where you are supposed to play different characters. When I moved to television, I committed another mistake by playing Ketaki in Khandaan. I was labelled a villain. Ultimately, I had to make Saans for myself,” she laughs. “But then again I did Kamzor Kadi Kaun. I love taking these challenges and am satisfied with my career graph. Main santusht hoon. Many years after Gandhi, I met Ben Kingsley in Delhi. I asked him what was he doing. He said that as there was no bigger challenge coming his way after Gandhi, he returned to theatre. I do the same when filmmakers don’t come up with challenging roles. I am waiting for Anupam (Kher) from the US to restart our shows (of Mera Woh Matlab Nahin Tha).”