'Albert Pinto' actor Manav Kaul talks about comparison with Naseeruddin Shah & getting the 'cinema you deserve'

From Bittu Mama in ‘Kai Po Che!’ to Ashok who romances Vidya Balan in ‘Tumhari Sulu’ and the most recently released ‘Badla’ in which he easily he essays good friend/lawyer, Jimmy to Taapsee Pannu’s character -- Manav Kaul has a varied filmography. Now looking forward to the release of his next film ‘Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai’ on April 12, Manav who was just back from a shoot for a web series spoke to WION about the remake of the cult classic, stepping into the shoes of Naseeruddin Shah, getting meatier roles in films, being a second generation Kashmiri and his one true love, travelling.

Director Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s ‘Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai’ released in 1980 starring Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil in the lead roles with anger being the central character of the plot. An official remake of the film by the same name (only spelt differently) is now making its way to the theatres with Soumitra Ranade helming the project as Manav Kaul, Nandita Das and Saurabh Shukla take the story forward in a “contemporary setup”.

How is this film different from the 1980 classic?
When it released in 1980, it had a theme of anger of the youth towards the society and at how everything was handled. This film is still about anger towards the society and its complex surroundings but Albert Pinto and all other characters are set in a contemporary situation.

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What are you angry about?
I am angry with the system, corruption, politicians, people around us. I want to do something about it as Albert Pinto. I want to change things, I can't just sit and watch things happening around me. This is about a person who wants to change life as he knows it.

How are you reacting to comparisons with Naseeruddin Shah?
I love this comparison. I love Naseeruddin Shah, he is one of the most amazing actors the industry has. He is an amazing person. We have done a lot of work together, we still do some plays together. At the same time, all those comparing will realise after seeing the film how different this is, how Ranade has conceptualised this.

Did the talks of comparison lead to performance pressure?
I know the responsibility, I was aware of that. I tried to be as honest as I can in this character. I didn't feel the pressure because I come from the theatre. In theatre, we take one play and all of us do the same role in our way. If I am doing a Tughlak, there have been 1000’s of people who have done Tughlak. I don't see that pressure because that role is my interpretation of Tughlak. It's not the interpretation of Tughlak which Naseer has done. This is my interpretation of Albert Pinto which has nothing to do with the interpretation of Naseer’s. Maybe 10 years down the line, someone could be doing Albert Pinto and it will be their interpretation. It will be lovely to see.

Since you play a character who is very angry, do you feel that the idea of ‘angry young man’ has changed in cinema over the years?
Cinema caters to what the society wants to see. You get the cinema you deserve. Cinema no longer shows the realistic angry young man that Naseer was or Amitabh perfected. Now, whatever anger we see is a larger, commercial scale of it. I recently saw a film on Netflix called ‘Soni’ which depicts real anger beautifully. It's about 2 women cop working in Delhi who are shown to go through continuous pressure, so subtle, that you feel angry as an audience in the end. It’s not about the anger or the angry young man shown in films but it's about you who see a film and feel angry about the situation, you understand the pressure that a person or a whole society goes through.

I like the maturity of anger as it's not anger because the person is angry but how we are interpreting it. I'm sure that after watching Albert Pinto, you will feel helplessness. This is how the writer and director have weaved it. These are very important times and we are going through amazing changes and the future is very interesting where we are just trying to be an artist. Cinema has changedespecially since the web world has come in. People are respecting creativity and there is no burden of a Friday.

Are you now moving to meatier roles -- from supporting to lead?
I don't take these things very seriously. If I want to work with a certain director and they give me a role, I'll do it. I know my capabilities, I am a trained actor, I'll do whatever I can do in those scenes. I see two things -- the script and the director.
People have started offering me lead roles in films but it's not that I have decided one day that I want a lead role. I am happy about being offered lead roles but these are things that you can't decide.

How did ‘Badla’ happen?
It was a surprise role for me as Sujoy Ghosh called one day and said ‘Listen you have to come and do this role. I will give you a special mention.’ I said ‘ok why not.’ It was amazing to work on the film with Taapsee and Bachchan saheb. I have worked with him in ‘Wazir’, it’s a sheer pleasure to work with him.

One of your film's characterthat you are personally fond of?
Ashok from ‘Tumhari Sulu’ was a very difficult character which I actually liked. He was a fun guy with a lot of intensity. I love that character because there was this perception that I won't be able to pull it off because people had seen me in strong roles like ‘Wazir’, ‘Kai Po Che’, ‘Gangajal'and others. While it was challenging, I had so much fun working with Vidya. The song was a hit because of the chemistry we had. Ashok is still the closest character to my heart.

As an artist from Kashmir, what do you think would be the best solution for the ongoing chaos in your state?
I am a second generation Kashmiri, not the generation that got affected. My father had huge anger towards a thousand things but I don't. He was attached to Kashmir as he was born there. I was also born there. I feel everyone is suffering. It's way too complex to sit here and give judgements. It's a very complex situation. We suffered and they are still suffering. We have to forget and forgive. If you don't do that, there is no solution. End of the day we have to make sure that our next generation has to have something beautiful in their hands rather than the chaos we are creating.

If not acting, what would you have done?
I am a writer.I write a lot but travelling, that's what I feel very close to. I'm the happiest when I travel. Everything else I do is passing time before I go back to my travel. Acting is something I do in between travelling.