Actor Anup Soni, an NSD (National School of Drama) graduate, was born and brought up in Punjab. When Anup came to Bombay (now Mumbai) in the late 90s, cinema was very different from television. Speaking to Asian Voice, Anup said, “I was always offered some hero’s friend or small role which I thought wasn’t the correct way in my journey. That was the time when television was emerging beyond Doordarshan. Satellite channels like Zee and Sony were already there. Star wasn’t a 24X7 channel, but they had a weekly programming schedule.”
Anup also mentioned that he doesn’t belong to a film family. In the late 80s when he was studying in Jaipur, he knew he liked acting. He said, “I joined the theatre circuit. I was doing LLB. I used to work with small theatre groups. There was no plan of becoming a professional actor. I then joined the National School of Drama. We were a regular common middle class family of India.”
“My base is theatre,” he said and shared that he’s done plays like classical Indian drama, based on Ramayana which was very contemporary. He also did a mix of international scripts also. “Later on when I came to Bombay I still kept in touch with theatre,” he said.
Anup’s first big and successful break was a show called SeaHawks that was directed by filmmaker Anubhav Sinha.”I had a brilliant role in that show. That was my turning point and the show was very successful,” he said.
Speaking about his revolutionary show Balika Vadhu that changed the dynamics of Indian television, Anup told Asian Voice that it was April 2008 when he began working on it. “I was approached in November 2007 for Balika Vadhu. I desperately wanted to take a break from TV and wanted to introspect as an actor where I’m going. I got the offer twice and told them I don’t want to do anything for the next four months.”
He rejected Balika Vadhu twice, only to be convinced by co-actor and good friend Smita Bansal to take up the outdoor schedule of the show and it became a revolution. “The writing, dialogue, and screenplay were very thoughtful. We had a sense that this was something different,” Anup said.
Evolution of television
Sharing his perspective on the evolution of television from the time he started to 2021, Anup said, “Change is constant. Television has come a long way. Technology has played a very important role in the range of work we do. TV shows are now shown in 100 countries.
When I was doing Balika Vadhu and I traveled to the USA or UK, or even in a place like Mauritius, SriLanka or Canada, you just can’t imagine, people recognised you on the road. Doordarshan days are gone. Satellite channels had taken TV to a different level and reach. Now you have daily soaps that have one episode every day.”
Anup further explained that back in the day, Television was close to realism and cinema was primarily imaginary and fictitious with more dreamy stories. “Today the change is that television is far away from realism (due to daily soaps), and cinema has come back to realism, including the OTT platforms,” he said and continued, “The reason why television was so successful is because of the writing. The content was liberating, thought provoking and very revolutionary. I did a show called Kartavya in those days and I got recognised for it in NewYork which was an afternoon show about a family. Content was very rich in television in those days.”
The paradigm shift
But what’s the actual paradigm shift in content viewing? Quite aptly articulating that, Anup said, “Today, because we are catering to a different kind of audience, the makers and platforms will say that this (daily soaps) is what the audience is liking. But my logic is that we are talking about 2021 when the generation is 100 times more smart than it was in the 2000s. If they used to like progressive shows back then, how can you say that they like regressive shows in 2021? I feel it’s a very catch 22 situation where you’ve addicted the audience with regressive shows. We’ve come back to daily soaps and Naagin, which are regressive shows. So if you have 100 shows out of which 99 are regressive, and you put one progressive show and it doesn't work, you can’t blame the latter. You have to create 95 progressive shows out of 100 (with five regressive shows) to be able to judge what the audience really likes today.”
For the love of theatres
His latest film on Zee5, Raat Baaki Hai is based on a play called Ballygunge 1990 which Anup started doing in 2018. “We were performing till 18 Feb 2020. We’ll perform that play again. Plays will always be part of my work. But right now my focus is on OTT and films. I’m not doing TV,” he told Asian Voice.
Talking about the importance of theatrical plays, he said, “The beauty of theatre is live performance. Yes producers record the play. It’s a live art. You can’t replace it with digitisation at all. Theatre is going to be here. The live performances are never going to die. If theatre had to be dead, this was the time because you have so much to watch on OTT. We have kept tickets for Rs. 2000 , our minimum ticket price has been 500, a movie ticket is lesser than that. We’ve done housefull shows.”
Advice on choosing acting as a profession
Sharing his two cents on young aspiring actors, Anup said, “Don’t come to this industry just because you’re enamored with the glamour of this profession. If that is the focal point, then you might achieve that, but the fact of the matter is that it is not permanent. It will fade sooner than you think. You will not be able to handle it.” Anup said that he has also gone through days when he’s been low but he managed because he’s truly passionate about acting. “Parents are very smart and sharp enough to judge whether their child is just enamored or actually passionate about this profession. Judge yourself and go by your gut feeling,” he added. After a solid body of work in films, TV and theatre, Anup rightly wants to be known as an actor. “I don’t want to be known only as a television actor. I don't like when people introduce me as a TV actor. I am an actor and I can act anywhere,” he signed off.
