Vipin Sharma on his biggest mistake post Taare Zameen Par, quitting cinema, and how Irrfan’s Maqbool made him return: ‘He told me ab acting badal rahi hai’

The 2007 film made Vipin Sharma a household name but the enormous success of Taare Zameen Par also subsequently opened his eyes to how the industry is quick to stereotype actors. Then began Sharma’s journey of “fighting” it out– the tag of being a “character actor”, the hunt for challenging roles and following his instincts even when he did films for money.

In an interview with indianexpress.com, the actor, who recently starred in Amazon Prime Video’s Tiku Weds Sheru, opened up about his career; the learnings, the struggle, the joy and how he ended up becoming a meme, thanks to Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur.

Edited excerpts:

Vipin Sharma in a still from Tiku Weds Sheru. (Photo: PR Handout)

How do you look at the variety of projects coming your way? 

It feels great and it also makes me feel proud of myself because post Taare Zameen Par, it was very difficult. I had a very tough time convincing people that I am not just an angry father, that I can do much more. I was very fortunate that people like Sudhir Mishra, Tigmanshu Dhulia presented me as funny, quirky gangsters and then Anurag Kashyap gave me an opportunity to become a part of Gangs of Wasseypur, now I am also a part of memes!

But I fought a lot. I had a big fight with myself, with the industry, with the filmmakers (to break the stereotype). Saying no is not easy, you feel you might upset someone… I keep fighting with people that I am not a ‘character artiste’. I am an actor, not a ‘character actor’. I am an actor, which means I can do variety of roles. The blessing has been that I have been humbly able to establish that I can do different kind of roles.

Taare Zameen Par changed the game for you. What was the high of the film like and then the reality check of the industry?

It was a bit difficult to understand. I didn’t expect that I would become an actor from Taare Zameen Par and of course working with Aamir was another high. Everything went very fast for me, I was trying to grapple with reality, the success of that scale. I learnt a lot. My mistake post the film, when I look back now, is that I was expecting that people would offer me different kind of roles, challenging roles. That didn’t happen. They had an idea that I can only do these kind of negative, angry father roles. I had to fight with that and didn’t slip into that, otherwise I would have been doing typical roles.

That would have been a tough fight…

It is a tough fight. Financially also… You don’t create work, your work creates you. Your work gives you energy to survive, not success, not the publicity. Your work gives you everything.

But isn’t there a temptation to pick up work for money?

Yes, you have to accept something that otherwise you wouldn’t. I am guilty of that. I won’t name the film, but I didn’t do them with any disrespect either. I did them with full integrity, gave my everything. Sometimes you do work for money, I am not a mainstream actor, but I never cheated in those roles. Even there I was fully present and in fact I love those roles, I don’t hate the films, but yes I know that’s not the zone I would have otherwise gone into.

Do you remember when you started becoming aware that people are calling you ‘character actor’?

I don’t like the tag. Everyone plays a character in a film, so everyone is a character artiste then. I would prefer to be called just an actor. I don’t agree with the term. Politically correct tag for me is just an actor. This is also a fight for me in the industry. I had written about it also long back, how an actor shouldn’t be called that but then… I guess I have calmed down today. ‘Ok, call me anything, in my head I am just an actor.’

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A post shared by Vipin Kumar Sharma (@vipin.sta)

Gangs of Wasseypur is still talked about for its memes…

Yes, they are so popular! The ones with Pankaj and I, Tigmanshu and I. I meet actors and they tell me, ‘We did your slap scene in our acting school!’ and I find it so amusing. I wonder how they do that scene!

How do you look back at associations with Sudhir Mishra, Tigmanshu and Anurag, which sort of helped you break out

I had finished NSD and come to Mumbai in the late 80s. But I was disillusioned by the film industry and how it works. I felt I don’t fit in, I am not an actor and went away. I came back to acting after 10-15 years. After NSD, I didn’t want to do ‘filmy’ films, there was a parallel cinema movement back then, I was inspired by that cinema. But I left because I couldn’t see myself be part of ‘filmy’ film. Then when I came back, despite Taare Zameen Par being such a big film, I was dying to meet Anurag. I met him and he said the casting of Gangs of Wasseypur was over and he didn’t have anything big to offer me. Mukesh Chabbra said there was one small role that I could do, but Anurag felt I shouldn’t do it because I had done Taare Zameen Par and this was a small part. But I said no I can’t wait for another opportunity to work with you, let’s begin.

On the first day of shoot when I gave my shot, Anurag told me, ‘I have understood now. I will write a scene now.’ He created these scenes; they weren’t in the script! If I see a director whose work is fascinating, I chase them, send messages that I want to work with them. I have no inhibitions to do it.

Why were you disillusioned by the film industry?

Your inner confidence is very important. You need to understand that, ‘This is what I want to do, this is what I am good at.’ Until you reach that stage, you are kind of lost. I was like that. I never realised I am an actor. So I quit acting and left the country. I was in Canada for a long time, where I became a professional film editor. Whenever I would come to India, the first thing I would always do is meet Irrfan, Tigmanshu and Naseer bhai. I would do this always. The three of us had a lovely friendship. Then Maqbool released and Irrfan told me to watch the film. He said, ‘Acting badal rahi hai, kuch achcha change ho raha hai.’ 

Even he was kind of struggling to find his space back then. So I watched the film and loved it. He asked me to come back, but I told him that I was fairly successful in Canada, was making money, editing a lot, I had a good name. There, I met a lady who taught acting.  So I studied an acting technique from her. I realised I was meant to act. I threw away everything I had, bought a one-way ticket to India to just act. When I arrived with that energy, I was offered Taare Zameen Par. That’s my story.