Adopting An Odia Accent Was The Biggest Challenge For Me, Says Ranvir Shorey
Like most method actors, Ranvir Shorey believes in living his characters. The actor has captivated audiences in diverse roles. From the cricket-obsessed Asif in ‘Bheja Fry’ to the ruffian Vikram in ‘Titili’, he gets into the skin of every role he plays. In Nila Madhab Panda’s upcoming film, he is playing the role of a loan recovery agent who is an Odia. The actor was in Bhubaneswar along with the entire crew of ‘Kadvi Hawa’ to promote the film when My City Links caught up with him for a one-to-one interview. Excerpts from the interview
From ‘Honeymoon Travels’ to ‘Titili’ and now ‘Kadvi Hawa’, you always choose different types of films and roles. How do you manage that?
I always try to be different and I think there is no harm in that (smiles). I take up every role as a challenge and my only aim is to live my roles so that the audience can live with the character. People often try to typecast you but I am happy that I have worked with good directors who trusted me and gave me an opportunity to showcase my acting talent. I can say I’m lucky.
Tell us about your character in ‘Kadvi Hawa’. You play the role of an Odia man in this film, so how easy or difficult was it for you?
The backdrop of the film is climate change but the story is about two characters who are very different from each other. In this film, Sanjay Mishra plays the character of a blind man and I play a ruthless loan recovery agent (Gunubabu) who fools the farmers to get money. You can say my character is heartless in this movie, who only thinks about himself. I am selfish man in this movie. I had to put in lot of hard work to do justice to my character. Adopting an Odia accent was the biggest challenge for me. So, I attended workshops to learn the accent and to understand how people would have reacted in such situations. I had to undergo a lot of training to have a proper Odia accent. In fact, I had to research about Odia food too..jpg)
What is your take on ‘nepotism’ in Bollywood?
Listen! Nepotism is everywhere but my concern is that often non-deserving people get the chance because of their family background. I mean if an actor’s child wants to follow suit, you can’t raise question why he or she wants to be an actor! But the problem happens, when they get the chance to play a lead role. In an open audition where hundreds of people come to take part, if only star kids end up getting the lead roles, it isn’t justified right? But yes, in the long run, talent always speaks. So, an actor should always believe in hard work.
How was your experience working in ‘Kadvi Hawa’?
We have put in all the hard work. Even we had to shoot in 50 degree-temperature in the hinterlands of Bundelkhand. So, it was quite difficult but at the end it was satisfactory. Nila Madhab is a very good team leader. When I heard the script, I did find the script beautiful. The story was very different andintriguing. So, Icould not say no to it. It touched my soul.
Would you ever do an Odia film if given an offer?
Yes! Why not? But I have only one condition that Nila Madhab Panda should not be the director of that film because he is very professional and he believes in working relentlessly till the shot is perfect (laughs). Actually, jokes apart, I will only work in an Odia movie if Nila Madhab would be the director of that film because I really enjoy working with him. He knows how to involve the actors to make every scene magnificent.