"In the end, an actor is as good as the part they play." - Ranvir Shorey 
By Joginder Tuteja, December 20, 2006 - 05:26 IST
VJ, anchor, standup comedian and a movie actor, Ranvir Shorey seems to be everywhere if you put on the TV or venture into the theatres to watch a light hearted film. For every Mixed Doubles, he has a Pyaar Ke Side Effects and for every Khosla Ka Ghosla, he has a Traffic Signal. Over to the man who has enjoyed a terrific 2006 and is looking forward to a happening 2007!
2006 appears to have been a defining year for you.
Yes, 2006 has been quite eventful but I believe the tide started changing in 2005 itself. There has been ‘The Great Indian Comedy Show’ while my film ‘Mixed Doubles’ that released this year has proved to be a turning point too.
But what excites you most to be part of a film like Mixed Doubles?
It is difficult to point out one single thing that excites me most. It is a combination of script as well as the way it is narrated. If something like that is interesting and makes me happy, tickles me, gives me a chance to contribute to a project, I go for it! In the end, an actor is as good as the part and I try my best to choose the right part.
But would you really call the elder brother part in Ram Gopal Varma’s Shiva as the right part?
For me, the single most reason to be a part of Shiva was the excitement of working with Ram Gopal Varma. Yes, the film didn’t work but I have no complains about my role since I knew from the beginning what my part was. I knew that I had to be one of those straight, middle class characters with 3-4 scenes in the film. I did as much as I was told but collectively all of that didn’t work as a film.
| The single most reason to be a part of Shiva was the excitement of working with Ram Gopal Varma. |
What did work was your character in Pyaar Ke Side Effects, isn’t it?
That’s so very true. I was happy working with Saket [Saket Chaudhary, director of PKSE] and it reflected in the performance.
Khosla Ka Ghosla came at the same time. Would things have been different if it would have released a couple of years back when it was ready?
Absolutely! I feel nice that the film came now and got a lot of attention from one all. Obviously, if it would have released earlier, it would have been better for everyone else and got us some mileage. Both KKG and PKSE have been good for me career wise since in spite of comic undertones, both the characters are radically different that helps. I was roped in as someone who was an actor without worrying about my VJ baggage!
 How did you actually manage to play a loud Punjabi character in KKG?
Though I am Bombay boy, I know a lot of friends in Delhi that helped me get the accent right for the character I had to play in the film. Also I knew of someone who had a similar background as the character and hence I modeled myself on him.
So are you featuring in the supposedly arriving sequels of both KKG and PKSE?
Can’t say that right now! I have no idea if these films are being made, though having said it is quite normal to see a sequel these days. So, who knows!
What else is happening on the movie front?
I have just finished Rajat Kapoor’s next film Mithya. I play a central character of a struggling actor in the film. And when I do get a chance to deliver my best as an actor, it is for the real life of this character in the film as it turns out to be a role of a lifetime.
| Traffic Signal is an ensemble piece, with me being a part of a gritty drama. |
Now you have your Traffic Signal coming up. What do you do in the film?
I am very grateful to Madhur Bhandarkar for casting me in the part. Especially so; since the character doesn’t have any comic shades to it. Let alone being comic, it is in fact very dark. I play someone who is a conman in day and a drug addict in the night.
You are paired opposite Konkona, right?
True, I have about 50% of my scenes in the film with her. Overall Traffic Signal is an ensemble piece, with me being a part of a gritty drama.
| I am nothing like what you have seen me on small or big screen. | Are you happy being one of the characters in a big film?
It all depends upon the part I play. A lot comes from what the story is and how I fit in. Now look at Anurag Kashyap’s under production film No Smoking. Though John Abraham is in the lead and I have a supporting role, I know what I am doing there and how it would work for the film. Ditto for Sirf, a film that I am doing; which again is an ensemble piece. [Smiles] You would see a lot of me in 2007!
Last but not the least, are you in real life too the same as one sees you on screen?
I am absolutely opposite of that. I am nothing like what you have seen me on small or big screen. Want to know the real me? Well, for that you have to spend a lot of time with me to find out!
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