Reel Medicine

OVER the last 14 years,actor Vineet Kumar Singh has bid farewell to several of his friends,who came to Mumbai with the dream of becoming an actor. Seated at a coffee shop in Versova,Mumbai giving his first-ever interview,Singh says,“I don’t know what I should say. But I am happy that I am finally getting a chance to say something. After an author-backed role in Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur (GoW),Singh is now being noticed for his portrayal of the lead role in Kashyap’s segment of Bombay Talkies. The short film is based on a man’s journey from Varanasi to Mumbai and his everyday struggle to meet Amitabh Bachchan and give him the murabba which his mother has sent with him. “Incidentally,Amitabh Bachchan’s house was the first thing I had gone to see when I arrived in Mumbai,” he says.

Singh came to Mumbai in 1999 to take part in a talent contest called “Superstar Hunt”. This,after he had studied medicine and earned a doctor’s degree from Benares Hindu University. His father,a mathematician,was keen that he practise as a doctor. Singh,however,had his heart set on acting as a career. Despite his parents’ disapproval,he took part in the contest and even won it. “However,the only good thing that came out of it was I got in touch with Mahesh Manjrekar,who took me on as an assistant,” he says.

Simultaneously,he also went for auditions and accepted miniscule roles in feature films and television shows. “I have even played Emraan Hashmi’s father in Crook and a ghost in one of the horror tele-serials.” After doing 20-odd films and shows,his first big break came with Manjrekar’s City of Gold. His performance was praised,but the film was a box office dud.

Finally,Singh decided to meet Kashyap,who he reveals is a cousin. “But it is a known fact that Anurag chases his relatives away. So I went there only when I had a showreel to present,” he says. Soon enough,he was portraying the role of Danish Khan in GoW and his life had changed for the better. The 35-year-old actor has now bagged two more projects,Issaq and Punit Malhotra’s Gori Tere Pyaar Main.

“It looks like finally it is all coming together. But I will be truly successful when my parents think I have finally achieved something,” says Singh.