In this wide-ranging and completely fascinating interview, the brilliant actor Rajpal Yadav, who has been working in Hindi cinema since 2000, talks with Subhash K Jha about life, the incredibly versatile roles he has played in his varied career so far and so much more.
You are now a year older; how has your journey been so far?
The journey so far is amazing. I have enjoyed myself a lot. Dukh aur sukh dono sar aankhon par. I saw many ups and downs in twenty-five years and got the opportunity to do many scenes, from one scene to a hundred scenes, sometimes as length, sometimes as strength in the film, sometimes as a guest appearance, sometimes supporting, sometimes negative, sometimes positive, sometimes comedy. I think in half a century, I got a chance to live five hundred lives through characters.
How would you sum up your journey so far?
I started with theatre and then the National School Of Drama, and then after that, the 70 mm screen. I’ve enjoyed every minute of my journey, got the opportunity to showcase many different characters through screen, through stage, through TV. I love entertainment.
Which do you enjoy more, the comedy or the serious parts?
Jha Saab, comedy is a serious matter. I can say that I enjoy comedy; it’s not easy to make people laugh. But I also I enjoy serious roles because I consider real to be real and reel to be also real. Reel is an illusion of reality, so I like doing all kinds of three-dimensional roles because I have learnt a lot from Charlie Chaplin sahab, and in my life, I have learnt the philosophy of life from Param Pujya Dadda ji, Shri Pandit Dev Prabhakar ji Shastri ji, so in real life, responsibilities in the form of family, social responsibilities and worldly responsibilities.
How successful are you in fulfilling your worldly responsibilities?
I think I’ve done fairly well. Responsibilities, sometimes as a son, sometimes as a father, sometimes as a brother, sometimes as a nephew, I like them very much. I fulfill responsibilities as a human being, this is my contribution towards the real life in which we people. As public figures we have to set an example in everything we do. I keep trying that whenever I get a chance to fulfil any responsibility, I do my best, and hence I always respected whatever work I got.
You have done hundreds of films; do you regret doing some of them where you are reduced to a parodic prop?
I am very happy I got the opportunity to face the camera in almost a double century of films, released and unreleased. But more than that, I got the opportunity to refuse as many films as I got the opportunity to do. I consider myself very fortunate that Bollywood is my karma bhoomi and all the regional ‘woods’ in the whole country and the world; I see them as my little aunt. Mother, aunt, and whatever it is, this is a relationship of an art and an artiste. I will try that whatever role I get; it should be an entertaining role, sometimes it may be serious entertainment, sometimes comic entertainment, it may be inspirational from life, it may have meaning and may also be entertaining…so now, with your blessings, I have entered my golden jubilee.
Your birthday wishes?
I wish I get good roles and good fortune, and I am committed to that goal day and night, and the hard work is on. Whatever I have got from the people of this country and the world to my parents to my family, is the result of everyone’s blessings and I accept it with all my heart. I will try to achieve more success in the arena of entertainment. This is what I wish for, and this is what I pray with all honesty, and this is what I expect from you all too. Love you all, respect you all.
Upcoming projects?
There are many upcoming projects, almost a dozen of which, because I was mostly busy with 70 mm for the last 25 years, our focus is more on that, and in that, there are some supporting roles, some lead roles. I am the lead in a couple of web series, too. I have the lead role in a couple of web films. Now, I am happy that there are roles of different shades, and I will try for more.
Any unfulfilled wishes?
I wish someone would offer me an out-and-out romantic role. I wish to serve as an entertainer to as many people as possible through acting. Love you, God bless you, and Jha Saheb, thank you so much for always receiving your love. There have been great actors in the world who have played great characters. I have also got inspiration from them and I will try to do a little better. Love you all, Mr. Ram Gopal Varma, whom we fondly call Ramu ji sir, Priyadarshan ji, David Dhawan sahab, Chandan Arora, and many more; I have had the good fortune of working with about fifty directors who considered me worthy of giving me roles, and it was always my wish that I shouldn’t get roles out of sympathy. I should only get the role I deserve, That’s my wish. I salute everyone and Jai Hind, Jai Bharat to everyone, and may everyone be happy and have great fun and may everyone be successful in their respective aspirations; this is what I wish for, Jha Saheb.
