Sudhir Mishra Exclusive: 'Can’t remember an actor who hated me'

In a career spanning over three decades, acclaimed filmmaker Sudhir Mishra has had the privilege of collaborating with some of the finest acting talents in Indian cinema. Among them was the late Irrfan Khan, with whom Mishra shared a special creative bond.

In an exclusive conversation with Mathrubhumi English, Mishra reminisced about his experiences of working with Khan, revealing the actor's incredible dedication to his craft and how he was "almost like a co-director" on film sets.

Mishra's anecdotes offered a fascinating glimpse into the making of some of his most acclaimed films and the enduring legacy of his collaborations with not just Khan, but some other gems of Indian cinema too.

While talking about the rapport that he shares with his actors, Mishra stressed that a filmmaker must love the actors. Calling them wonderful artists, he explained that he is grateful to each of his actor, for “they bring your characters alive.”

Mishra further stressed that “all actors are different and need different inputs”.

Recollecting his days with Khan, with whom he shot ‘Yeh Saali Zindagi’ in 2011, Mishra told us: “Irrfan (Khan) was never interested in his part (of the role) much.

He wouldn’t discuss his part because he knew what his role was. But on the sets, he would be more curious about the whole storytelling and the other actor(s). He knew he will do his part, he was always well-prepared for it.”

“He was a great actor, but he was interested in himself as a part of that particular scene and the overall story, and how it’s moving forward. So, he was almost like a co-director.”

Other than Khan, the ‘Tanaav’ director also recalled working with the likes of Rajat Kapoor, Om Puri, Deepti Naval. Shabana Azmi, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. 

As per Mishra, he never really had to direct Kapoor. “With Rajat (Kapoor), all I needed to do was to tell him the context. I never direct Rajat.” The filmmaker also spoke of how he would Om Puri would come prepared on the sets and would easily handle any surprises thrown at him during the filming.

Ask him how was it working with some of his out finest actors, and he would say: “With Shabana, you have to make her understand. She will not do something because you said so. She has to be convinced for it. Each actor has their own process. I have worked with some of the greatest actors including Deepti Nawal, who comes with her own subtlety and nuance. Nawazuddin Siddiqui will come and handover himself over to you. But he is coming a with a skill set of 30+ years. His instinct is so bang on!”

“I tend to work with actors like these. Mostly they are like me. I can’t remember an actor who hated me,” Mishra concluded.

On the work front, Mishra’s most recent work is ‘Tanaav 2’ which he co-directed with E Niwas.

Starring Manav Vij, Ekta Kaul, Shashank Arora, and Gaurav Arora, the series is a Hindi adaptation of an Israeli series titled ‘Fauda,’ and is available for streaming on SonyLIV.