I am no stranger to hateful characters: Tanmay Dhanania of Aparna Sen's The Rapist

You had two feature films at the 27th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF). Tell us a bit more about them.

That’s right. One is a film in Malayalam, called Nishidhho directed by Tara Ramanujan. I play a migrant labourer from West Bengal who has come to a small village in Kerala to earn a livelihood. He makes friends with a local girl who helps a lady doctor in delivering babies. But they do not know each other’s language. It was a lovely experience. His heart lies in Kumortuli as he belongs to a family of artisans engaged in sculpting the idols of Durga for the Durga Pooja. The local girl was played by Kani Kusruti.

How was it working under the directorial baton of Aparna Sen specially as a character who might generate hate among the audience and also slot you in similar roles?

Working with Aparna was a lot of fun! She is so convinced in her vision, so passionate, so full of life and will go to any length to get what she wants. I respect, admire and completely relate to that. I have never thought of characters as good or bad- as soon as an actor judges their character, the character is dead. No truth can be found after that. I am no stranger to playing hateful characters- in some sense I am the trash collector actor of the industry- filmmakers come to me with roles that they know not many would jump at. I like to do challenging roles, that is where the fun lies for me. If, because of this, I get slotted into similar roles, then it’s the myopia of the industry to blame, not my choices as an artist.

What kind of homework did you put in for your roles in NISHIDDHO and THE RAPIST?

I like to work in depth with characters. I like to live the life they  lead, I physically transform myself into their shapes and bodies and through that I find character. For Nishiddho, I worked with a Kumartuli artist in Kolkata for some time and then lived and worked with migrant labourers in Kerala for a bit, along with polishing my Bangla and Malayalam. For Aparna's film, I lived in a slum next to Jamma Masjid and then in Anna Nagar in Delhi. To get the feeling of being in a jail cell, I stayed in a windowless room for a week. I also cut down on my food intake drastically and stopped showering as Aparna wanted a certain look for the character. I also worked on both characters' relationships with their friends by spending time and interacting with the actors playing these characters.

You have been lucky to get a break in totally off-stream films under debut directors, veteran directors and somewhat established directors. Let us hear the full story.

I trained at RADA and then I came back to India and started working in independent cinema. I never aspired to work in mainstream Hindi cinema and I am quite difficult to cast in 'regular' roles. Also, I am terrible at auditions. So, I generally tend to work with directors who know my work, know how I like to work, and trust that I can do the job without auditioning me, and then give me the space to create with them. They are all process-based directors.

How did you get your first break in films and in which film?

My first film was Brahman Naman by Q. Q had worked with friends of mine from our theatre group Tin Can in Calcutta, including actors like Anubrata Basu, Soumyak Kanti de Biswas and Tanaji Dasgupta. We hung out a couple of times. So, when he was putting Brahman Naman together, he approached me with a very specific role in the film- he wanted me to play Ajay but also work with the actors on character and text. I had just graduated from RADA and he thought I would be ideal. I then went through many rounds of auditions before securing the part.

Would you call yourself a trained actor, a natural actor, a director's actor or a blend of all three depending on the director, and your role in the film?

I do not think acting or an actor can be so easily categorised. I have trained at RADA, so I am a trained actor, I would like to think that my work is natural, and yes, I work with complete faith in the director. But for me, complete trust does not mean complete agreement, it implies that I am willing to try anything, and that I need the same trust in me from my director. I define acting as the pursuit of truth.

Are you right now, in a position to pick and choose your roles and films?

Yes, I am in a position to pick and choose now, but I also picked and chose when I was in no position to do so! I do not believe in marketing myself. I do not live in Mumbai, I do not hobnob and I have never paid for PR. I like my privacy and want the work to speak for itself. If I am right for a certain part, I am sure it will come to me somehow.

What films are you engaged in right now?

I just finished shooting something for Netflix with a wonderful director I cannot speak about yet. I also shot for a feature called Lord Curzon ki Haveli with Rasika Dugal, Arjun Mathur, Paresh Pahuja and Zoha Rahman. I also acted in a short anthology, also produced by Applause, the co-producer of The Rapist. I have my Malayalam debut feature Nishiddho  which is playing at NYIFF where it has been nominated for Best Film. Kani Kusruti and I are also nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor.