He has mostly starred in small independent movies but actor Neeraj Kabi says he has no disdain to star in commercial cinema provided it is being helmed by filmmakers like Imtiaz Ali and Zoya Akhtar.
Neeraj, who was last seen in the Irrfan Khan starrer Talvar, says he is interested in choosing a film with a solid content irrespective of whether it is a small movie or big budget film. “I am not against doing commercial cinema at all. I am shooting for a love story with Shefali Shah, it is not a typical film but the content is strong. If I get a call from Imtiaz Ali or Zoya Akhtar to star in their films, I won’t think twice,” said Neeraj.
“I have loved their films and I think there is enough scope for an actor to perform in that space, provided the content is strong and the role is meaningful,” the actor added.
Neeraj won a lot of critical acclaim for his role as a monk in the national award winning film Ship of Theseus and went on to star in Dibakar Banerjee’s Detective Byomkesh Bakshy.
The actor will be next seen in The Field, opposite Radhika Apte. The drama-thriller is set in Delhi and chronicles the life of a family which has many secrets.
Neeraj says the actress, who plays his wife in the film, is exceptional and brings to the table her own sensibilities. “Radhika is a very good actress. I had watched her Marathi film and found her performance extremely good. I think as an actress she has her own sensibilities which is very good.”
The Field, directed by Rohit Batra, merges a dysfunctional mafia family at war with each other as an undercover officer fights his demons by assisting in their downfall. “My character in this film is not negative. It has various shades to it. I do not like to label the characters I am doing or even myself as a particular type of actor. I try to do different kind of roles which are not the same ‘hero’ or ‘villain’ kind,” Neeraj said.
The actor, who also enacted the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the 2014 TV series Samvidhaan: The Making of the Constitution of India directed by Shyam Benegal, says he has no intention to go back and do another TV show as the medium never made “any sense” to him.
“I have always stayed away from TV. It never made sense to me. I did ‘Samvidhaan’ because it was a solid show. You have so many offers coming to you so as an actor it is all about finding which project to invest your energy in.”
