Darsheel Safary opens up to HT about the Hindi release of his Gujarati film “Kutch Express,” his collaboration with Ratna Pathak Shah, and his upcoming projects.
Darsheel Safary of Taare Zameen Par fame is 26 now. The actor kept to himself after gaining fame with his debut film with Aamir Khan and is now raring to go. He is currently basking in the success of his Gujarati film Kutch Express and claims that he has a line up of three Hindi films, all from different genres, in waiting. He has completed his graduation and says that he wanted to prepare himself to get what he wants.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Darsheel said he is eager to get the response of his fans as his Gujarati film Kutch Express, that also stars Manasi Parekh and Ratna Pathak Shah, is now available in Hindi as well. He also talked about his future plans and how he is loving the offers he’s getting now.
So how come you did a Gujarati film?
Firstly, for me it was just about showing something new. I’ve always wanted to do that. The idea was to really associate with a good script and the story was somewhere relatable because it has multiple relations that are being shown not just in a family and is also a subject about acceptance. I’m playing a character who’s very similar to me because they’ve shown a mother and a son bonding, which I have in my real life with my mother. So a lot of things appealed. And the biggest appealing factor for me was to work with Ratna Pathak Shah ma’am because I wanted to really sit with her in the same room and just grasp her energy and all that she knows.
We are now having a renaissance in Indian cinema in a way that everyone’s accepting all forms of films, like if you see South Indian cinema as well, there’s good content that is being served. This film has a decent amount of content that all generations can relate with. The message of the film is to empower yourselves, express yourselves. It’s a metaphor: Kutch Express is a train, but also the speed of life.
You and Ratna Pathak Shah made your Gujarati film debut together with Kutch Express. Share your experience of working with her.
To be precise, it was phenomenal. She has so much experience, almost twice my age. Everyone was scared of her in the beginning, but then once you understood her, you came on her wavelength. It was a pleasure. You started missing her on set because it’s the typical goal of being on a movie set. You know you want discipline but you also want to have fun. You also want the maximum output possible. Her being on set even made the cleaner on set give his maximum output. That was her aura.
I got my fair share of shouting from her, in a way that I was learning, frankly. If you’re not definite about your method as an actor, you should go to your basics. And that’s what she taught me. She said, ‘Get your lines sorted and then worry about other things. Don’t think too much.’ By the end of the shoot and while promoting the film, I discovered that I want to work with her again to show her how much I’ve learned with her. Because after that film, I shot about 3 Hindi films and I was really imbibing what she had taught me. I hope that she’d be proud of me.
We have seen very little of you on screen. Is there a roadblock?
You definitely will be seeing me more now. I have shot like anything in the last two years. My film Hoja Mukt released on MX Player, it was based on mental health. I had Kutch Express. I am getting roles which I feel are deeply associated with my being. You have to be a certain type for you to be offered certain roles. I am working hard on getting those kind of roles and to show stuff that I truly want to show the audience, for which I feel there is always a right time. Whatever is happening right now is happening on the perfect time and I can’t be more thankful for that.
I’ve shot a couple of web series and some short films too. I’m also doing theater very actively, we’re performing at NMACC very soon. I’m getting to do what I love to do.
Did you wait to complete your education
I did complete my studies. I have done my bachelors in Mass Media. I was waiting for my graduation and thinking that I need to have this time to experiment as an actor, to really know why I want to act, excluding the fame and money. I started preparing myself. When the pandemic started easing out, I started getting offers and I started auditioning. I feel that I got fortunate because I prepared myself for that stage.
Tell us more about your upcoming three Hindi films.
I have different shades of characters in them and all are from different genres. There’s a murder mystery where you’re going to see me in a slightly darker space. I shot another film which is mostly based on belief and faith. It’s possible that you have your idols which you believe as your gods, it’s based on cricket. There’s another film which has been shot with Pratik Gandhi and directed by Anant Mahadevan. It is a biopic of Jyotirao Phule. I am very happy with the work I’m getting right now.
Disclaimer: Except the headline and synopsis, this story has been taken from the HT News Service