Namdev Gaurav, a Mumbai driver, is now walking the red carpet with the stars

The life-altering changes are still sinking in, especially with the movie gaining popularity at festivals. “I couldn’t even have imagined doing anything other than driving, let alone acting in a film alongside people I consider family.”

Taking his first-ever flight, Namdev binged on big oily samosas and Bournvita as he landed in Ladakh, where majority of the shoot took place.

Meryl Streep once remarked that acting is not about being someone different. It’s finding the similarity in what is obviously different, then finding oneself in there. Although Namdev may not have been aware of this insight on acting, once the cameras rolled, the 65-year-old chauffeur did exactly this. Tired of working in the obstreperous Mumbai city for more than 45 years where you can hear a honk every single second, Namdev decided to leave everything behind and hit the road in search of silence, in real and reel life.

Silence has not always been an easy companion, with his house in Mumbai located between a busy railway station and a noisy highway with the airport in between. “As a driver in Mumbai, peace and silence are a privilege. You spend most of your life on the road, in traffic, in a cacophony of horns and engines. You fight with truck drivers, with watchmen, with birds who s**t on your car. It’s very difficult to have inner peace without actual peace. So the acting was mostly me trying to convey how I felt inside. I’m not a professionally trained actor. I was just being honest”, he shared.

Taking his first-ever flight, Namdev binged on big oily samosas and Bournvita as he landed in Ladakh, where majority of the shoot took place. The movie captures his dark sense of humour, which in real life translates into finding fun in life’s mundaneness. “Despite the crazy shoot days, It was peaceful. I experienced the same joy the character did in the story. You don’t know what a noisy life we’ve been living until you experience that kind of silence. I would definitely be visiting Silent Valley again. Even though it doesn’t exist,” he said.

Acclaimed producer Dheer Momaya’s film Namdev Bhau: In Search of Silence has been officially selected for the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IIFM), scheduled from August 8 to 17.

During his growing years, going to the theatre was like a picnic, recalls Namdev. “My favourite actor was Raj Kapoor. I wish I could have met him. But I never imagined I would be one of them. I grew up in a working-class family in a small, shabby house. As a kid, going to movies was a huge event for us, unlike these days when you can watch a film whenever you want. Life wasn’t easy, but it was all fun and games as a child. My mother used to beat me a lot, but I took it merrily. I miss her sometimes,” he said.

Although he hates the noise, Mumbai still holds a special place in his life. Besides his family and friends, among the best things about the city, he confesses, is “Maharashtrian Jhinga (fish)”. He doesn’t enjoy going to the Gateway of India, though, because of “too many people and birds”.

In a city like Mumbai, silence is rare to find, making it a valuable resource. “I feel I’m losing my mind if I stay in noisy environments for too long. The most silent period in my life has been at Silent Valley, except during shooting”, he remarked. In real life, he quips, “If sleep counts as meditation, yes, I do meditate.”

For Namdev, “success tastes like mangoes; it’s sweet and sour”. However, his first brush with cinema has him hooked and he wouldn’t trade it for his former life. Pakeezah was the first films he saw in a theatre. “I’m not a movie buff, but I watch Bollywood films mostly. I also liked that film that came called Namdev Bhau. Great film. Great acting,” he jokes.

The film’s lead actor, 65-year-old Namdev Gaurav who is a real-life driver, has been nominated in the Best Actor category at the IIFM.

Namdev believes it’s challenging to make time for oneself in the busy lifestyles we follow. “It’s vital for us to keep our sanity through inner peace and we should try to attain it by any means necessary. If you’re someone like me, you’ll just snap one day. So vacations and spending time with oneself away from the noise and the ruckus is important I feel.”

He added, “There’s an absence of spirituality in this generation that was prevalent in India earlier. People’s thoughts are restricted to their immediate needs and desires. We have big malls with thousands of cars. We have a good quality of life. Our roads are made of concrete and our highways reach far and wide. Our homes are nice and plush. Some of us follow organic diets. But inside, we we have become numb,” he added.