Sohum Shah: ‘Film producers are not given due credit in our industry, sabse aage sirf actor hai’

“Being a producer has its own high. A producer creates. But it is a thankless job. Film producers are not given due credit in our industry. Sabse aage sirf actor hai.. (It is only an actor who gets due for his/her work),” Shah shared with indianexpress.com. But since Shah is also an actor, he believes he understands things from both perspectives.

He added that it is only a producer who is not appreciated when a film becomes successful since nobody realises the value of the risk a producer takes when he greenlights a project. “When I put in the effort as an actor, I get more returns. But as a producer, no matter how much you put in, you get a lesser return. Actor, director sabki wah-waahi hoti hai, producer ki kyun nahi hoti? (Actors and directors are appreciated, why a producer is not applauded?) He is the one who took the first step and took the initial risk,” Shah opined while clarifying that he is talking about indie producers and not big production studios which have a safer mechanism.

Shah said, in his opinion, film producers should invest in writers as they are the building blocks of any project and actors just recreate what a writer created on paper. “Script is a bible to me. I think producers should invest more in writers. For me, it is the writer who takes the top spot. Actors come later after the writer has created a universe,” Shah suggested.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sohum Shah (@shah_sohum)

Back in 2012, Sohum Shah had no intention of becoming a producer of Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus. But since there was nobody who was ready to take the risk of producing the film, Shah, who was acting in the film, took the onus upon himself. “When Ship of Theseus came to me, I really liked my character and the film. But then I was told nobody is ready to take the film. People used to ask, ‘Why is there no song in the film?’, ‘Why there are so many languages in it?’ So, I thought when I have resources, I should produce it,” the actor who would be next seen in the SonyLIV series Maharani narrated.

Before moving to Mumbai to become an actor, Shah owned a successful real estate business in Rajasthan. But he “felt suffocated in a small town” and the urge to “express and explore” himself brought him to Mumbai. Like many aspiring stars, his idol was also Shah Rukh Khan.

Being a producer while also acting on a project seems to be a tricky task. But Shah never felt that since he defined himself as a producer who would assign work to others and “let them do it”. He would focus on his acting “because my first love is acting only.” He said if he produces and acts in a project, he goes on a film set with the mindset of an actor only.

Shah essays the role of a crooked politician in Subhash Kapoor-created web series Maharani. The second season of the show will stream on SonyLIV from August 26. It is a show that fulfilled Shah’s wish of speaking “larger-than-life dialogues”. Though Shah had a little difficulty in understanding the psyche of his character Bheema Bharti, getting into the skin of his character was easy.

He shared, “India is popular for three things: cinema, cricket and politics. And since I have also been born and brought up in India, you know about politics consciously or unconsciously. So, it (preparing for the character) was not that difficult.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sohum Shah (@shah_sohum)

Going forward, Shah will be seen in a comedy-drama. He also wishes to star in a romantic role. But, he wants to stay an actor only instead of grappling with other titles like a director or a writer. “Bohot mar mar ke yahan pohnche hain, thode saal toh acting karein (Have reached here after a lot of hard work, would love to act for a few years from now),” the actor concluded.