‘Now
I
have
understood
that
an
actor
needs
to
switch
on
and
off
between
action
and
cut.’
‘I
take
my
characters
only
from
the
vanity
van
to
vanity
van.’
‘When
I
put
on
the
makeup
and
wear
the
costume,
I’m
in
character.’
‘The
minute
I
remove
the
makeup
and
take
off
my
costume,
I
am
out
of
it.’
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Abhishek
Banerjee/Instagram
It’s
a
double
bill
for
Abhishek
Banerjee
this
Independence
Day.
For
the
first
time
in
his
career,
he
has
two
releases
on
the
same
day:
Stree
2
and
Vedaa.
While
he’s
hilarious
in
the
first,
he
unleashes
his
evil
side
in
the
second,
and
reminds
us
of
his
terrific
performance
as
a
sexual
predator
in
Ajji.
“My
character
in
Ajji
was
very,
very,
complex.
I
had
anger
issues
after
that.
I
was
borderline
depressed,”
Abhishek
confesses
to
Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com
in
the
second
segment
of
a
multi-part
interview.
Your
role
of
a
sexual
predator
in
Ajji
is
one
of
your
finest
performances.
It
came
way
before
Pataal
Lok,
Apurva
and
Vedaa.
What
is
it
about
these
dark
characters
that
excite
you?
It’s
not
me,
it
is
the
directors.
It
is
them
who
consider
me
perfect
for
such
roles.
When
a
director
likes
me
and
they
if
they
are
unable
to
offer
me
a
protagonist
part
due
to
various
reasons,
they
feel
like
let’s
use
Abhishek
somewhere
by
giving
him
something
good.
The
next
good
thing
is
the
antagonist,
which
is
always
so
well-written
and
powerful.
Maybe
that’s
why
I
get
these
roles.
But
as
an
actor,
I’ve
done
drama
with
Avinash
(Arun)
in
Unpaused.
I’ve
tried
a
little
bit
of
romance
in
Ankahi
Kahaniya.
I
did
a
romantic
comedy
in
The
Great
Weddings
of
Munnes.
As
Hathoda
Tyagi
in
Paatal
Lok.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Abhishek
Banerjee/Instagram
The
villains
you
have
portrayed
are
not
simple
characters,
they
are
psychologically
complex
people.
How
do
you
detach
yourself
from
such
characters?
It
was
difficult
when
I
played
Dhavle
in
Ajji.
He
was
very,
very
complex.
I
had
anger
issues
after
that.
I
was
borderline
depressed.
I
was
young
and
did
not
know
how
to
release
the
character
from
my
system.
It
took
a
toll
on
me.
The
worst
human
beings
are
those
who
prey
on
kids.
I
was
recently
offered
a
similar
role,
but
I
said
no.
I
can’t
go
into
that
space
again.
But
now
I
have
understood
that
an
actor
needs
to
switch
on
and
off
between
action
and
cut.
You
know
who
told
me
this?
Raj
Nidimoru.
He
said,
why
don’t
you
practice
switch
on
and
off
if
it
is
bothering
you
so
much?
I
listened
to
him,
because
I
can’t
be
this
guy
who
gets
into
a
weird
zone
and
stays
like
that.
Now
it’s
all
craft,
all
skill,
all
technique.
I
take
my
characters
only
from
the
vanity
van
to
vanity
van.
When
I
put
on
the
makeup
and
wear
the
costume,
I’m
in
character.
The
minute
I
remove
the
makeup
and
take
off
my
costume,
I
am
out
of
it.
What’s
the
story
behind
Casting
Bay?
How
did
you
start
off
as
casting
director?
Casting
Bay
happened
because
two
boys,
Abhishek
Banerjee
and
Anmol
Ahuja,
came
from
Delhi.
We
had
some
experience
in
casting
in
Delhi
as
we
used
to
do
theatre
there.
Gautam
Kishanchandani,
who
used
to
cast
for
Anurag
Kashyap,
had
come
to
Delhi
for
Dev
D
and
we
assisted
him.
He
then
offered
me
a
job
with
him
in
Bombay
and
Anmol
later
joined
me
here.
We
did
it
for
the
sake
of
just
doing
some
work.
He
wanted
to
be
a
director,
I
wanted
to
do
the
acting,
and
it
was
not
like
someone
was
sitting
here,
offering
us
work.
That’s
very
much
all
the
young
men
and
women
in
India.
They
finish
studies
and
then
find
a
job,
which
may
not
be
their
favourite
one.
They
may
have
to
do
something
which
runs
their
kitchen
so
that
they
don’t
pressurise
their
family
for
money.
Yes,
I
trained
myself
to
be
an
actor
but
had
to
be
practical
about
things.
With
wife
Tina
Noronha.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Abhishek
Banerjee/Instagram
How
much
money
did
you
make
while
starting
out
as
casting
director?
It
gave
me
enough
money
to
pay
my
rent.
It
gave
me
enough
money
to
own
a
Santro
in
those
days.
It
gave
me
enough
money
to
vacation
to
foreign
countries
with
my
wife.
It
gave
me
enough
money
to
buy
my
parents
a
humble
house
in
their
hometown,
Kharagpur.
I
was
fulfilling
all
the
duties
of
a
son
and
husband,
and
was
happy
with
that.
How
did
you
create
your
niche
in
the
industry
as
casting
director?
It
happened
because
of
OTT.
Those
days,
no
star
would
want
to
do
an
OTT
show.
For
them,
it
was
like
stepping
down.
So
we
got
a
free
hand
in
casting
whoever
we
could.
That
is
how
Mirzapur,
Inside
Edge,
Panchayat,
Paatal
Lok,
Scam
and
Made
In
Heaven
happened.
That
is
how
most
of
the
TVF
shows
happened.
You
see
raw
actors
there,
no
stars,
and
all
those
shows
are
big
hits.
