Only Balraj Sahni, to quite an extent, didn't out perform the characters he played," says theatre actor Kay Kay, who recently played the lead role in Mahesh Mathai's Bhopal Express. Known for his notable performance as Harilal in Mahatma vs Gandhi, this 31-year-old actor believes there are three categories actors can fit in. The first, he observes, is the one where the actor and the character blend with each other - where Balraj Sahni fits. "In such a role, one doesn't seem to perform. What comes through is his essence of being on the screen, creating an almost spiritual consanguinity with the audience," says the actor, who before his first film acted mostly in plays, like Makrand Deshpande's Chitra and Baje Dhol.The second category, he feels, is where Naseeruddin Shah, Dilip Kumar and Om Puri find pride of place. "They are like a dynamic instruments in the hands of the director to make the right kind of impact. The whole effort is to develop the character and construct the performance," says Kay Kay,adding that the third category is `stardom' where everything is based on the persona and fantasised acting, with roots in the desires of the audiences. "Here the life of acting is directly proportional to the image that the actor carries for years. Like Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dev Anand and even Shah Rukh Khan." Dreaming of belonging to the first category, Kay Kay says: "Even during the screen test for Bhopal Express, I performed through sheer instinct. I tried not to develop the character more than necessary." In love with the art of it, Kay Kay, a Physics graduate who later took up management and corporate advertising, quit everything for his passion six to seven years ago. "In all these years I have learned not to impress the camera. It watches you very closely." says the actor about his vocation that kicked off with a cameo appearance in Julius Caesar with Naseeruddin Shah's Motley, followed by a major role in Makrand Deshpande's Jungle Ke Paar.After acting in several of Rajat Kapur and MakrandDeshpande's experimental plays and one-hour TV slots like Rishtey, Star Bestsellers and Saturday Suspense, Kay Kay wants to do more TV. "It is the only medium through which an actor can do riyaaz. With directors tightly pack our shooting schedules, we can draw parameters, work within the frame, improvise and see how far can our limit be stretched. One becomes a better actor, as a result."- MEETA BHATTI
