Saurabh Shukla says he’s made some ‘tough choices’ in his career, ‘felt a jolt’ when Shamshera flopped

Ask him which part of the current phase of his career he is enjoying the most and Saurabh says it is the “realism” in today’s films. “I don’t even feel that I have spent such a long time here that I can make a difference. Pehle bhi acchha kaam karne wale log the, and not so acchha kaam karne wale log the, aaj bhi waisa hi hai (There have always been people who work well and those who don’t). Even today if you look at it in totality, when it comes to choices of stories and how one chooses to act, then we are moving more towards naturalism or realism. It is a good time for actors because now in one film you have all the shades to play — you can be funny, humorous, quirky, sad, dramatic — and I personally like this trend very much,” he says.

Saurabh said there was a time in his career when some of the films he acted in never released. He added that he “felt a jolt” when his last big film — Shamshera with Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt — failed at the box-office. “There are so many films that I have done which are not known to people but while doing the film I had great fun. And later when I watched the film, I was very happy with myself that I chose that film. But then there was something in the film that didn’t work and the film did not reach people. It is part of the game, at the end of it.”

The actor also shared that he has only won one National Award in his long career of about three decades. He received one in 2014 for Best supporting role in Jolly LLB (2013).

“I have not got awards, not many. (I have received) one National Award and one Screen award. The National Award came as a surprise as I was not aware that I was going to get it. I thought I would be the happiest person on earth. But speaking the truth, the day I received the award, I was very happy, but I was not as happy as when I did the film. It is the same thing. So, woh success hua ya nahi hua, I don’t think (it matters), yes of course, you get a jolt that why it was not accepted yaar, but that’s it, then you move on,” the actor shared.

The 60-year-old actor also opened up about people appreciating his work, and how he has to make some very “tough choices”. The actor says he realised this during an interaction with a fan. “I have a very touching story. By the virtue of being in films, people look at you and say flattering things like, ‘aap wohi actor hai na… aapko sab jaante hai (you are that actor na, everyone knows so)’. So I was returning from New York, it was an Air India flight; there were a lot of Indians and it was like a mini India. So when you walk in the aisle, you meet a lot of people. I was courteously accepting people’s comments and moving with a fixed smile on my face. Many people came up to me, spoke to me, shook hands. One of those people, a man told me, ‘Mr Shukla, I am a great fan of yours’, so I thanked him and went ahead. This man came back to me, tapped my shoulder, and said ‘I just want to make one correction — I am a bigger fan of your choices’.”

“That shook me and I turned and looked at that man and my whole life suddenly flashed before me. For a second, it was a very emotional moment for me because I realised that the man knows that these choices were not easy… often I was confused or thought that I had made a mistake or I had lost,” he concluded.