Exclusive! Tushar Pandey says OTTs have become an equally important part of the industry now

In less than a decade of his career, actor Tushar Pandey has offered several unforgettable characters like Mummy in Chhichhore and Satti in the web series, Ashram. Pandey has explored almost all formats as well and says he would love to work every day of the year, given an opportunity. The actor recently appeared in the SonyLiv film, #Homecoming, which also starred Sayani Gupta, Hussain Dalal and Plabita Borthaku. His role as Shubho in the film has been winning several hearts as well.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, the actor talked about his recent OTT outing, journey so far and working with Amitabh Bachchan in Pink in his early career. 

Excerpts:

The SonyLIV movie, Homecoming is out now and it's been receiving fairly good reviews. How do you feel? Did you expect this kind of response for the movie?

It's a very different film that I have worked on. I've shot for it in Kolkata, in a very different environment and culture. For me, it was a great experience. I'm just excited to be part of the film. I play a Bengali guy, even though I am not from Kolkata. So as a journey, it has been really fun. A lot of people watched and thought I am from Kolkata. They thought I am a Bengali. When you get that kind of a response, it builds your confidence and makes you happier. We had a couple of screenings in Mumbai and Kolkata. When I came out of the theatre, people came to me and started speaking to me in Bengali. I was like, wow, something clicked. The film's getting a mixed response because it has a very strong background of theatre. So anyone who's from the theatre background can connect to it more. I'm getting messages from friends who are from the theatre, and they're loving it. It's an indie film, it's not a mainstream film, so it will have its own audience. But the people I have shown this film to, they have loved it. So I'm very happy with that.

As you said, you play a role of a Bengali guy. How did you prepare for the role? Do you speak Bengali or did you have to learn it?

I'm very curious when it comes to languages and different cultures. I was just waiting to try something different. I had done one film as Bengali before in Pink but I didn't have to speak a lot. I have a lot of friends from Kolkata at NSD. So, I had exposure to different cultures. So it wasn't very different for me. I have always had friends who speak different languages. So I understand the language but am not fluent in it. I got a dialect coach. So I had someone to train me in the language. For Chhichhore, there's a part where I speak American English. So, I got an accent coach for that. Similarly, for Homecoming, I had someone who helped me throughout because, at the end of the day, when I'm performing, I just want to be honest with the character. In fact, the original script didn't have any Bengali dialogues. I spoke to the director and said, 'let's add some Bengali dialogues for more authenticity'. And so yeah, it was fun. In fact, I'm doing another film where I'm playing Bengali again.

The film is about preserving the dying art of theatre and this group of friends who come together to fight for the art form. Do you think you were drawn to this project because of your theatre background?

Yeah, definitely. It is very rare that you get a script, which is about the life you have lived. When I read the script, I certainly had to try. I got attracted to the script because it is talking about the people involved in theatre. In college, the only thing you think about while doing theater is the passion with which you want to tell what the play is about, you don't think about money or fame or anything else. You just go to the streets and perform, if you get a stage, you perform. And I think when I read the script, it just took me back to that time. The film is about a group of friends, who did plays seven years ago. And my character is the founder of the group. He directs the plays, writes them and leads everybody. So, I got excited because of theatre art. During my college, I was the president of the society, the theatre group I was part of, so I could personally connect to it. I thought, very rarely, you'll get a script where you are reliving your life. So it was like, a no-brainer. It's a very interesting character. And I just said yes to it.

The film actually captures the beauty and the vibe of the city as well. So, did you get to explore the city too? How was the experience working on this?

I've been to Kolkata a few times before the shoot as well. But this was the first time that I got to spend almost 20-25 days. The whole film is set over one night. So we would start shooting at six o'clock in the evening and finish by five or six in the morning, every day. I used to then get breakfast and sleep. I would wake up and go for lunch. So the only time I would get was between lunchtime and the evening before we resume the shoot. At that time, I didn't see the city, but I met so many people. I started to pick on the quality of what Kolkata is through its people. I think that really helped me to understand the city because it was not just going and watching different places or just eating food. I started talking to people, they bought food for me from home. I think I started seeing a very different side of a city by connecting with them. And after that, I have been there for another film where again, I was there for a month. But that time, I felt like I knew Calcutta a lot more. I've been to Kolkata around 10 times during pandemic times. It's the only city in two years that I've travelled to the most, like 10 times in the last one and a half years. It's crazy. I'm very happy to be there.

In your career so far, spanning about some seven to eight years, you have explored almost every format, be it short films, features or OTT as well. Which medium do you find most challenging and why?

Film on a big screen is definitely where the heart is. And I think anyone who's been part of the film feels that way. There is an old charm to it, to see yourself on that big screen. But what has happened today is OTT has suddenly become such an important part of both the maker's and actor's lives because very rarely, you go through a journey of a character for like eight to nine months shooting it. Like for a season of a series with say, 10 episodes, each about 40 to 45 minutes long. The amount of exploration, the amount of scenes and the journey, an actor has in the series is vast. A series would be almost four to six hours long. So there is a lot more to explore in the OTT series. And I think as an actor, I love that, just to be able to dive deep and give the audience, a different experience of the character's journey, like what happened in Ashram, which was my first OTT series. Suddenly, it gave me a different exposure. The audience loved it, the amount of response I got on that series is great. I feel OTT's an equally important part of our industry now. As an actor, I would love to do both simultaneously.

Do you find any difference when it comes to shooting for OTT?

It is not different. A film today is shot for 40-45 days, on average, while a series is shot for 90-100 days. So the amount of time you spend exploring a series has become a lot more. While a film script would be 100 pages long, the script of one episode of a series would be 40-45 pages. The amount of time you give to it is very different.

Do you find it exhausting being in the shoes of the character for so long, when it comes to a series?

I don't think exhaustion is the right word. I love it. If you let me do it for like two years, I'm happy to do it. Obviously, as an actor, we get a lot of free time as well. When we shoot at a stretch for let's say four or five months, then we get about three months free. It's a recharge space that we get and we jump back again. But I will say I'm ready to shoot every day, given an option.

So don't you need that recharge space?

No. My journey as an actor started from college and I actually trained myself in it. I did not want to start acting suddenly. I went to NSD and then to London. I gave myself five to seven years to fully train and understand the craft of acting. I enjoy acting. It is not like a burden or a job. For me, it's more about challenging myself when it comes to projects. It's not that I get like 20 offers a day, I am not in that position right now. But whatever I do, I try to justify myself as I've spent so much time training. So when somebody sees my work, they will be able to see something different. I take a lot of time between projects. I am fine doing it slow, as long as the audience is happy watching me and not like I do five projects in a year and offer nothing good. That's my motto right now.

And because I have spent time in what I do, I can see the response from the audience. At least now, my last two works have connected with the audience. I can see it when I go out on the road and get recognised. As an actor, you want people to appreciate what you do.

With the Ott boom, there's a lot of content coming up right now. It has given a lot of opportunities to artists but do you think OTT has made it more competitive?

My take is competition is always there. Before the 90s, it was a different kind of competition and in the 2000s, it was different. But at least with OTT, there's so much happening that people have work. It is not like only five good films are made this year. And whoever's part of these five films is getting recognition and others are just not getting work. Every platform has one series or film coming out every two weeks and that is a very good thing as people are getting work and people are watching it. I hope it continues that way.

You have been part of some great films like Chhichhore and Pink that have won National Awards. How was the experience working on them?

It was the very early years of my acting career in films. I would just watch Amitabh Bachchan perform. That's like the biggest high you get because you're watching a megastar perform. And the beauty is despite all that recognition, even today, he performs like it is his first film. He is so passionate. He would come prepared and rehearse the scenes. I remember I had a scene with him that got edited later. During the filming, he called me and asked if we could rehearse the scene. We rehearsed for like half an hour or 45 minutes. And you get to learn that you only grow bigger by working hard. So that was a learning phase. By the time, Chhichhore came in. I was very comfortable. And all of us were like a very good group. That was a very comfortable and enjoyable shoot.

Were you being called Mummy on the sets of Chhichhore as well?

No, not on the set, but on the road. When I go on the road, people call me either Mummy or it's Satti (character in Ashram). It's a very common thing now. And I am okay with it.

You got to relive the hostel life again while shooting for Chhichhore. What was it like?

We were shooting in IIT and the film is set in an engineering college. We got to spend time there and play TT in the hostel and also cricket. And because the film has so many sports, all of us could be part of that. It was great. I mean, it's absolutely one of the best shoot lives I've had.

How was the experience working with Sushant Singh Rajput?

Absolute treasure. He's somebody all the actors look up to. His sheer hard work and passion are seen in his work. I just feel blessed to be able to work with him and share time with him and learn so much.