‘You Need Patience To Be An Actor’

‘A
struggling
actor
once
came
to
me
and
told
me
there’s
no
work.’
‘I
said
when
there’s
no
work,
that’s
when
you
have
a
lot
of
work.’
‘He
said
he
didn’t
understand.’
‘I
explained
that
you
have
to
keep
reading,
watching,
writing,
traveling.’
‘It
is
like

riyaaz
for
an
actor.’

Jitendra
Joshi
is
a
household
name
for
Marathi
audiences,
thanks
to
his
widespread
work
in
cinema
and
theatre.

He
cemented
himself
as
a
familiar
face
to
national
audiences
when
he
took
on
the
role
of
Constable
Katekar
in
Netflix’s

Sacred
Games.

Since
discovering
Joshi,
Hindi
makers
have
featured
him
in
OTT
and
film
projects,
including

Thar,
Betaal,
Cartel,
School
of
Lies,
Ulajh
and
most
recently,

Agni.

“I
am
not
someone
who
would
promote
his
work
via
PR.
I
don’t
even
have
a
PR
team.
I
believe
that
if
you
do
good
work,
good
work
will
come
to
you
organically.
I
have
reached
where
I
am
today
with
that
belief,”
Jitendra
Joshi
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com.

At
the


Agni
trailer
launch,
you
passionately
spoke
about
the
lives
of
firefighters.
Did
you
get
a
chance
to
meet
real-life
firefighters
to
understand
their
world?

Yes,
I
did
visit
fire
stations
and
meet
some
firefighters
and
officers.

The
first
thing
that
hit
me
was
how
challenging
their
profession
is,
even
though
it
might
look
easy.

When
people
see
fire,
they
run
away
from
it.
But
these
people
run
into
it.

You
need
physical
as
well
as
incredible
mental
strength
to
do
it.

The
fearlessness
and
insanity
that
these
people
show
in
their
profession
is
something
else.
Despite
that,
I
feel
we,
as
society,
don’t
give
them
the
respect
they
deserve.

Of
course,
they
will
never
say
this.

I
really
hope
that
after

Agni
people
will
salute
the
firefighter
whenever
they
see
one.

Sacred
Games
made
people
from
outside
the
Marathi
industry
take
notice
of
you.
How
much
did
that
show
change
your
life?

Nothing
much,
really.

You
think
that
once
a
project
is
successful,
people
will
start
asking
for
you.
But
it
doesn’t
always
happen
that
way.

I
am
not
someone
who
would
promote
his
work
via
PR.
I
don’t
even
have
a
PR
team.

I
believe
that
if
you
do
good
work,
good
work
will
come
to
you
organically.

I
have
reached
where
I
am
today
with
that
belief.

How
did

Agni
happen
for
you?

Vijay
Maurya
(who
wrote
the
dialogue
for
Agni)
had
told
me
about
this
film.

He
made
this
really
good
film
recently,

Mast
Me
Rehne
Ka.

He
told
me
about
the
role
and
said
that
Rahul
Dholakia
wants
to
cast
me.

I
had
gone
to
meet
Rahul
sir
and
I
was
lucky
to
find
this
role.
There
was
no
audition
process.

The
length
of
my
role
is
not
that
much.
But
you
will
enjoy
the
film.

Are
Hindi
makers
aware
of
your
work
in
Marathi
when
they
approach
you?

There
are
a
few
people
who
are
aware,
like
Anurag
Kashyap
and
Vikramaditya
Motwane.

But
it
doesn’t
matter
if
the
makers
are
aware
of
your
work
or
not.

I
was
chosen
for

Sacred
Games
through
audition.
I
auditioned
for

Thar
also.

Sometimes
makers
want
to
see
if
you
fit
the
character.

I
don’t
have
any
ego
about
giving
auditions.
There’s
no
harm
in
it.

Do
you
remember
your
initial
days
in
the
industry?

I
had
come
in
Mumbai
in
1997
and
have
been
working
since.

I
started
with
theatre,
then
moved
to
films.
I
have
done
things
at
my
own
pace
in
my
career.

It
takes
time
for
people
to
take
notice
of
you,
but
things
happen
eventually.

It
is
important
to
have
patience.

With
so
many
Marathi
actors
and
film-makers
working
in
the
Hindi
mainstream,
do
you
think
the
industry
is
waking
up
to
the
regional
talent?

Yes,
of
course.

Things
are
slowly
changing.

It’s
a
business
of
art,
and
you
need
artists
to
make
good
projects.
There
is
always
a
need
for
good
actors,
directors,
writers.

Thanks
to
OTT,
there
are
lots
of
things
being
made.
For
that,
you
need
talent.

As
the
rule
of
economics
goes,
if
there
is
a
demand,
there
will
be
supply.

I
enjoyed
watching
you
in
last
year’s
Marathi
film

Naal
2.
But
despite
the
quality,
there’s
only
one

Sairat
in
many
years,
otherwise
the
reach
for
Marathi
cinema
is
still
limited
to
Maharashtra.
As
senior
actor,
how
do
you
look
at
this
situation?

Things
will
change
for
Marathi
cinema.
We
have
to
be
optimistic.
We
need
to
keep
doing
good
work.

A
few
years
ago,
my
film

Godavari
was
awarded
at
IFFI
out
of
some
230
films.

Nikhil
Mahajan
(director)
got
a
National
Award
for
his
work
on
that
film.

We
have
examples
of
Nagraj
Manjule
(Jhund),
Aditya
Sarpotdar
(Munjya),
Sameer
Vidwans
(Satyaprem
Ki
Katha).

I
am
not
saying
that
only
working
in
Hindi
is
a
big
thing
but
these
film-makers
are
getting
a
good
platform
to
tell
their
stories.

But
if
you
talk
about
the
business
of
Marathi
films,

Ved
did
pretty
great.Natsamrat,
Mauli
did
well
too.

It
is
a
gradual
process.
When
a
bunch
of
good
artists
come
together
and
tell
good
stories,
change
will
surely
happen.
It
is
important
to
keep
on
working
towards
it.

What
is
it
about
the
Hindi
film
industry
that
you
won’t
find
in
Marathi?
Is
it
the
exposure,
money,
or
something
else?

The
money,
of
course.
The
kind
of
money
that
the
Hindi
film
industry
has,
Marathi
doesn’t.
That’s
because
of
the
market
and
the
business.

Nagraj
Manjule
is
making
a
film
on


Khashaba
Jadhav
in
Hindi.
The
budget
for
that
film
will
definitely
be
more
than
a
Marathi
production.

Sachin
Khedekar,
who
is
your
colleague
from
Marathi
films,
once
said
that
he
is
limited
to
playing
stock
characters
in
Hindi.
Do
you
think
it
is
difficult
to
find
good
opportunities
because
of
the
star
system
in
Bollywood?

If
the
star
system
was
there,
we
would
not
have
Kartik
Aaryan.
When
he
came
in
the
industry
he
was
also
a
newcomer,
no?

Now,
he
is
one
of
the
biggest
stars.

Or
Jaideep
Ahlawat,
Vijay
Varma,
Nawazuddin
Siddiqui,
Pankaj
Tripathi,
Rajkummar
Rao…
all
these
actors
started
with
small
roles
but
are
stars
now.

Look
at
Nana
Patekar’s
career.
He
has
worked
consistently
for
years
to
reach
where
he
is
today.
Same
for
actors
like
Raghubir
Yadav
sir,
Gajraj
Rao,
Sanjay
Mishra.

Boman
Irani
is
another
good
example,
who
literally
started
his
career
at
the
age
of
40.
Now,
he
is
60+
and
coming
up
with
his
first
directorial,

Mehta
Boys.
That’s
very
inspiring.

The
key
is
to
keep
delivering
good
work.
You
have
to
have
patience
too.

A
struggling
actor
once
came
to
me
and
told
me
there’s
no
work.
I
said
when
there’s
no
work,
that’s
when
you
have
a
lot
of
work.

He
said
he
didn’t
understand.

I
explained
that
you
have
to
keep
reading,
watching,
writing,
traveling.
It
is
like

riyaaz
for
an
actor.
You
have
to
keep
on
working
on
yourself.

You
have
written
some
popular
songs
in
Marathi
such
as

Kombdi
Palali
which
became

Chikni
Chameli
in

Agneepath.

I
have
a
hobby
of
writing
poetry.
It
inspires
me.

I
admire
the
works
of
so
many
writer/poets/lyrists
right
from
Sahir
Ludhianvi,
Anand
Bakshisaab,
to
Majrooh
Sultanpuri,
Gulzarsaab
and
G
D
Madgulkar.

Poetry
gives
you
a
different
perspective
on
life.

I
still
write
songs,
both
in
Hindi
and
Marathi.

I
wrote
one
song
for
an
upcoming
film
named

Little
Thomas.

But
my
household
runs
because
of
acting.

What
are
your
other
interests?

Listening
to
music,
reading
poetry
and
books,
traveling.

You
meet
new
people,
explore
new
places
and
food.

The
main
motto
is
to
live
life.

Who
are
the
film-makers
on
your
wishlist?
Do
you
personally
reach
out
them
for
work?

I
haven’t
reached
out
to
any
film-maker
ever
in
my
career.
The
work
has
always
come
to
me.

My
wish
list
is
rather
long.

I
want
to
work
with
Kamal
sir
(Haasan),
Mani
sir
(Mani
Ratnam),
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansalisaab.
Rajni
sir,
Bachchansaab.

I
recently
did
a
film
with
Anurag
Kashyap.
It
will
release
soon.