‘I do not want to release my films in theatres’

Naseeruddin Shah-starrer 1980 cult film Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai captured the anger of the lower-middle class against the capitalists for exploiting them. Thirty-eight years later, the situation hasn’t changed much, believes Manav Kaul — the protagonist of the official remake of the film. Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai?, which hits theatres on April 12, has been directed by Soumitra Ranade. 

“The youth is still angry with corruption, social issues etc. The anger was there before and it still exists,” says Manav, adding, “The original story was about mill workers and the issues they faced. But Soumitra has captured completely different issues in this film.”  

PLAYING ALBERT PINTO
Manav, who is reprising the role of Naseeruddin, says that while shooting, he did not feel any kind of pressure. “But now, I am feeling the pressure while promoting it because everyone is asking me about it. Are people actually waiting to see how I have played it? I have interpreted the character in my own way,” he says adding, “But I had fun being a part of the film and playing the character because Albert Pinto... is my favourite film of Naseer.” 

He says that he had watched the original film at a young age. “I just remember Naseer, and Shabana Azmi’s brilliant acting,” shares Manav. 

TALENTED CO-STARS
The 2019 remake also stars Nandita Das and Saurabh Shukla. The film has been produced by Soumitra Ranade, Golden Ratio Films, Paperboat Design Studios, Templetree Motion Pictures, Vikram Saxena, Jagmeet Singh, Noopur Raje, Pinke Ankur Patel and No Guts No Glory Films. When one gets talented co-stars, Manav says, the working process becomes easy. “Every person does their own work so there is no pressure on the other actors. The more talented your co-actors are, the better it is for you. Saurabh and Nandita are not only good actors but brilliant human beings as well,” he says. 

WORK LESS MANTRA
After the success of Tumhari Sulu (2017), in which Manav played the role of Vidya Balan’s husband and received rave reviews, he disappeared from the big screen. Those who loved his work were hoping that he would do more films. But Manav maintains that he likes to do less work. “I don’t have fun doing too much work. After finishing a project, I like to take some time off reading, travelling, writing and directing,” he says adding that people also shouldn’t see him too often on screen or else they might bored. “They should be like, ‘We want to see him on screen’. It’s a good thing that the audience wants to see me, however, it’s not necessary that I have to do one film a year,” says the actor who will be next seen in a web series and Netflix Original titled Music Teacher.   

Manav likes being a part of films which surprise him. “It should feel like, ‘I haven’t seen this before’. The director and script is the most important thing for me while signing a project. If I feel that I am not on the same page with the director, I do not sign the film,” he says. 

DIRECTING FILMS
Apart from directing several plays, not many know that Manav has directed two films. His first film titled Hansa was made on Rs 5  lakh budget. It made it to the Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival and won the Best Critic and Best Audience Choice awards there. Later, it was released under PVR Rare in Dec 2012. Manav also attended Director Lab for young theatre directors at Lincoln Centre New York for two years. 

He is currently editing his second film. The actor says that just like his first film, he will release his second film on video-sharing website YouTube. “I do not want to release my films in theatres. I will never write and direct commercial subjects because I am not interested. I am okay with losing money but I will not release it commercially,” he says, adding, “I am not interested in thinking who will produce my film, and whether anyone will watch it or not. I like to make different kinds of films,” he says.