Exclusive interview! Vivek Madaan: Ajay Devgn is like a big brother; love him to the core

“Actors are essentially performing artists. It is a very difficult life to pursue the arts with passion. You need to work and survive in the business,” believes actor Vivek Madaan as he reflects on his journey as an actor.

Most recently seen in ‘Special OPS 1.5’ with Kay Kay Menon and ready with an interesting lineup of projects including Raveena Tandon’s ‘Aranyak’ or Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Mayday’, Vivek Madaan speaks to WION on his unique equation with ‘big brother’ Ajay Devgn, shooting in freezing temperatures for ‘Mayday’ with Ajay and Amitabh Bachchan and the evolution of a discerning audience that promotes growth of varied content.

Here are the excerpts from the exclusive chat:

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WION: We saw you in Special OPS 1.5 and now you have Aranyak with Raveena Tandon, are you consciously concentrating on OTT content than films right now?

Vivek Madaan: Actors are essentially performing artists. Nobody choosesto be a film actor or an OTT actor. Actors have a limited shelf life and hence one can’t afford to be too choosy. It is a very difficult life to pursue the arts with passion. You need to work and survive in the business. TV is usually prolonged engagement and hence regular, sustained income, whereas for a movie or OTT project it is barely a few days of work. Unless you have made it big luck by chanceor through a breakthrough performance, any and every paying job helps you foot the bills and stay afloat in an expensive city like Mumbai. It’s as simple as that.

WION: Which medium do you prefer-- theatre or OTT and why?

Vivek Madaan: Both of them have their unique charms. For an actor, the stage is where he breathes free and has the opportunity to connect with the audience live. The energy of the audience is palpable. You know when the lines fall flat or when they have hit home -- it’s ‘real time’ feedback. It’s creatively liberating because when the show is in session, the stage is yours and the co-actors improvise, work in synergy to create art through a live performance. And with every new show you explore new things in tandem with your co-collaborators. OTT and films are a director’s medium. You need to deliver the goods in a very specific set of circumstances ‘moment to moment’ implementing upon the director’s vision. It’s your job as an actor to be adaptable to such changed environments.

WION: Aranyak’s trailer dropped recently and it’s very well received by the audience. How is she to work with as a co-actor on set?

Vivek Madaan: I am playing Raveena’s husband! Most of my scenes in ‘Aranyak’ are with her. Raveena’s humility and unassuming nature makes her a joy to be around on the set. We had some really intense scenes together, but she is inherently charming and immediately puts you at ease. In spite of the rigours of the shooting conditions, we breezed through the tough shoot in the winters with strict COVID protocols, all thanks to her affability and sheer professionalism.

WION: In general, what genre of film/show do you enjoy the most being a part of?

Vivek Madaan: As a viewer, I love crime and legal dramas, suspense/ psychological thrillers, basically cerebrally engaging material. As an actor, I would love to be a part of all genres though. As an actor you always want to stretch your limits and expand your creative horizons.

WION: You also have ‘Mayday’ with Amitabh Bachchan. What can you tell us about your role in that and we'd love to hear some quirks from the set?

Vivek Madaan: I don’t have any scenes with Bachchan sahab on this project. All my scenes are with Ajay Sir in ‘MayDay’. Though I did have the good fortune of having one small shot with Big B in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s ‘Family: Ties of Blood’. I can never forget how we kept waiting for a chance to meet with him during the shooting schedules, but it was very difficult back then, as he had Z+ security cover. On one of the days, Mr. Bachchan stopped by to introduce himself to me in a most magnanimous gesture and said “You do more ads than me. Keep up the good work son!” To have been recognised by Bachchan sahab and that too in such a manner is an indelible memory I shall carry to my grave.

Ajay sir is like a ‘big brother’. He has the commanding presence of a drill sergeant in the barracks but with a velvet glove. As a director, he works with absolute discipline and military precision. He was multitasking as the leading man, producer and director on this one and he makes it look so easy and very very cool. I love him to the core.

As for the quirks, I am essentially a non-smoker but on a whim I suggested to Ajay sir that it would go well with the character if I could smoke for this one important scene in the film. We were shooting in Moscow in real chilly weather conditions and there was a dramatic contrast between the temperatures of the building interiors and the outdoors. I landed up in a rather awkward predicament because we ended up shooting so many retakes for that sequence, that I was forced to take a break, toss my leather jacket and beat a hasty exit outdoors as I started feeling terribly uneasy after the extended cigarette smoking. It must have been quite a sight for the Russian folks passing by to see this Indian actor walking around in a thin tee, while they were all clothed in heavy, warm clothes. I have to be super careful next time onwards to avoid such eventualities.

WION: You’ve been a part of the industry for a long time now. What do you think is more important, a hero/heroine attached to the film or the characters that the audience connects with and makes a project successful?

Vivek Madaan: Hero or heroines and supporting actors are all fundamentally playing characters. The storyline dictates who’s the central protagonist and other key players in a narrative. It is the script which defines all these elements. Without the script and the lines, all actors are without crutches.

WION: But have things changed in Indian cinema, for the better, for character actors since the eyes are equally on the lead characters as well as supporting actors and sometimes even more?

Vivek Madaan: Audience perception has evolved thanks to the exposure of diverse content now available online. By virtue of this exposure, discerning viewers and cinephiles now have the option to watch all kinds of genres of films in all possible languages. Naturally, the scope has broadened and better understanding has set in, thereby increasing awareness and better appreciation for qualitative work.

Length of screen time doesn’t necessarily translate to better appreciation or associative recall in a certain project. Quality of performance over quantity of scenes is the key. Let’s not forget that Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were primarily character actors who then became leading men. Locally, it is heartwarming to see absolutely brilliant actors like KK Menon, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Jaideep Ahlawat, Pankaj Tripathi finally get their much deserved mainstream recognition globally through excellent performances in their respective OTT projects.