In this freewheeling interview at his spacious apartment in Powai, HARISH PATEL tells JYOTHI VENKATESH that he became an actor in films only by chance.
You made your debut in films with Utsav after your foray in theatre. How did you get the desirable break from Shashi Kapoor?
I never ever dreamt that one day I’d be acting in films too. I was actually working with a garment export house as well as doing theatre with Satyadev Dubeyji when I got the offer to act in Shashi Kapoor’s film Utsav which was being directed by Girish Karnad. I was a B.Com graduate who was drawing then a princely sum of Rs 750. Shankar Nag was my classmate at Lala Lajpat Rai College in Mahalakshmi and it was he who had introduced me to the theatre. Girish Karnad had seen me in theatre. I was zeroed in by producer Shashi Kapoor for Utsav, when he came to see my play Chowkidaar at prithvi theatre.
But was Mandi the first film of yours to be released?
Yes. I also started shooting for Mandi directed by Shyam Benegal in August end of 1982. After that there has been no looking back and I was part of films like Utsav, Dacait, Mr India, Pratibandh etc since offers started pouring in by buckets
You were a staunch fan of Shammi Kapoor !
Yes. I was an ardent fan of Shammi Kapoor and never missed the first day first show of his.
Was it difficult for a Gujarati boy like you to enter films?
First of all, let me clarify that I am not a Gujarati though people presume that I am a Gujarati because Gujaratis also have the surname of Patel. Arya is my surname. If at all I am today in films, I’d give the entire credit to my erstwhile boss at the garment exporting company- Kishorebhai who let me pursue my career in theatre first and films later as an actor.
Anil Kapoor had offered to cast you in Bapu’s film Woh Saat Din but you did not take it up. Why?
I knew Anil from the days he was working at the Prithvi Theater when he was simultaneously acting in Kannada films in small roles. He offered me the role that Master Raju did in Who Saat Din when we were sitting at Dubeyji’s office. I could not accept the role as I was busy dabbling in acting in plays as well as attending my office and had not thought of acting in films.
How did your tryst with TV start?
I never struggled for a break on TV, because I was happy with my stint with the theatre. It was Manju Singh who offered to cast me in her TV serial Ek Kahani which was followed by Shyam Benegal who cast me in his TV serial Katha Sagar before I ended up bagging Jyoti Swaroop’s serial Aa Bail Mujhe Maar
Is it true that you replaced Naseeruddin Shah in a play?
Naseeruddin Shah was acting in Satyadev Dubeyji’s play Sambog Se Sanyaas Tak. Once when he had to report for the shooting of Shyam Benegal’s Manthan,he could not act in the play and Satyadevji asked me to do the same role in the play.
Which are your five best serials as an actor?
My five best TV shows are Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Hum Hindusthani, one episode called J.K of Mahanagar which I did with Dr Shreeram Lagoo, Katha Sagar, Shyam Benegal’s Discovery of India and of course Shankar Nag’s Malgudy Days which proved to be a turning point in my career.
Who are your favorite current filmmakers in India?
Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rajkumar Hirani are my all time favorite filmmakers today.
Where do you think you went wrong as far as Bollywood is concerned?
My biggest mistake was that I did not at all plan my career and did films blindly, like Kanti Shah’s C grade films or similar films and did not think about the consequences. I did not pursue the right projects and hence I missed the bus even after working with the Telugu super star Chiranjeevi in Pratibandh and Karisma Kapoor in producer D. Rama Naidu’s film Prem Qaidi. I think it was my approach which was wrong. I did not reach the people who mattered at the right time. I remember once I was stuck at the shooting of Pahalaj Nihalani and reached very late for Salim Akhtar’s shooting. In short, I did not at all know who was who in Bollywood at that point of time.
Why did you disappear from the scene in Mumbai and embrace the U.K TV scene?
It was way back in 2002 that I realized that character actors had nothing to do and the character actors were just reduced to being fillers on the sets
How did you bag your break in the West?
It was way back in 1992, when I was selected by BBC which scouted for talent for their series Buddha of Suburbia. The people who had come down to India had seen me in Govind Nihalani’s Tamas and insisted that they wanted to meet me. Roger Michell (of the film Notting Hill fame) zeroed in on me and I went to London to be part of many series. I was at that point of time only shooting for films like Parmatma and Aankhen. When I asked Pahalaj Nihalani if I could go abroad leaving his shooting of Aankhen, he coolly told me that for him the stars was his monkey and I was free to go to London for four months.
And you made U.K your second home for work!
Yes. Luckily, I bagged the Royal National Theatre’s play Rafta Rafta and the film Run Fat Boy and also did series like No 1 Ladies Detective Agency,The Driver, David Wlliams different series besides Romeo & Juliet for Shaespeare’s Globe Theatre. I was also a part of the longest running series called Coronation Street of which I had been a part of 45 episodes. The series has been on air from 1960. I have done 36 projects in TV, films and theatre from 2004 till today in UK.
In what way is the scenario in U.K different as far as TV serials are concerned for actors?
Unlike in India, there is no bonded labor in U.K and there is absolutely no exploitation of actors and quality always works
Didn’t you too face hassles over work permit like Dilip Tahil faced while in London?
Actor’s Equity was approached with the complaint that an actor was imported from India to act in Run Fat Boy Run but director David Schwimmer told them he wanted either me or no one else. Dilip won the case when the local Indian actors settled in U.K took objection to his working in Eastenders, since he had obtained the work permit for acting in the play Bombay Dreams
You did not try your luck at acting in series in USA Like Priyanka Chopra did!
I did three pilots in 2005, 2010 and 2011 like those of Scott Ellis’ Never Mind Nirvana for 20th Century Fox, David Schwimmer’s Nearly Nirvana for NBC for which I was paid $ 60000 per episode with retainer fee of $ 80,000 for six months but unfortunately for me they never got series orders, like Quantico got and David Schwimmer’s Nearly Nirvana for NBC and Tristram Shapeero’s Freaking Family for ABC
What are your projects right now in India?
Frankly I am free right now in India and do not have even a single project, because I kept in turning down offers in India whenever I was offered one because I was committed to my projects in the West. However,I am now open for both offers in films as well as TV but then the approach should be proper. People should not think that they are doing me a favor and approaching me as if I am sitting idle at home now, as I am not visible in India either in films or TV.
