Actor-writer Sumeet Vyas, as a kid, detested anything that fell into the category of 'stationery'. “I hated books and pens. There was too much pressure to score well and I couldn’t live up to that,” he quips. He quit studies after school only to have got back into reading with Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead as he dabbled in theatre. The pressure of scoring was off him by then. And he could befriend books.
“The books influenced me so much that I went back to college and studied history and psychology,” he says.
Vyas, in the last couple of years, has become a name to reckon with in the world of web series—his portrayal of Mikesh from The Viral Fever’s (TVF) Permanent Roommates being the most popular. His performances in films like Parched and Ribbon have been lauded. Recently, he portrayed a DJ in High Jack struggling with self doubt and to make it big in his realm. Next up is Veere Di Wedding in which he is paired with Kareena Kapoor Khan. Here, he talks about his career, not taking a stand when TVF’s Arunabh Kumar was accused of exploiting women, and doing an out and out commercial film like Veere Di Wedding.
You, too, have had a long struggle in your career, quite a journey it's been. Were there moments of self doubt?
Of course, there were quite a few occasions when you start doubting if you are good at what you are doing. But the idea always was to not let that fully seep in, rather fight it and constantly evolve as an actor. Instead of sitting and blaming the world that 'they have not understood me', or even blaming yourself that, 'I am so rubbish'. I was always aware that I have a certain skill-set which is valuable, so, rather than mulling over my doubts, I always thought it is better to work hard on my craft and work with different people to do that. I was working with Nadira Babbar's theatre company for six-seven years when I started doing theatre. Then, I decided to get out of it and work with new people—I worked with Akarsh (Khurrana), directed plays for him and acted in some of his plays. I worked with a lot of other people in theatre like Manav Kaul, Atul Kumar and many others. For me, it was always about evolving as an actor.
And how would you define that process of evolution?
It's been great. Also, the way content is consumed has evolved in the last 17-18 years. When I started back in the 2000, even theatre was consumed differently.
You started as a video editor though
Yeah, I was an editor briefly. I was editing music videos, countdown shows, etc. At that point in time, there was a heightened level of emotions in the content that was being consumed. Six year later, I thought it changed, and people wanted to watch more realistic comedies and shows. As an actor, I took notice of that and constantly tried to keep with the times, so that my craft remains relevant.
You have written a lot too—plays and web-series (TVF Tripling and Bang Baaja Baaraat). How did that change over the years? In your writing, especially in web series, messages of social relevance were weaved in intricately while the shows remained out and out comedies. Something like how online dating has changed the way you perceive marriage, or may be dealing with divorce in Tripling.
To be honest, I personally don't like it when things are preachy or people are preachy. Hence, when writing also, the idea is to not be preachy. And if I have to give a message or convey a certain emotion, it has to be weaved into a situation and in a way that it doesn't look like that it's been written on a poster. As a writer, I have essentially tried to do what I like watching and try to stay away from what I don't want to see on screen. As a technique, I try and quash the first cliché idea that I get in any situation because that's been done. Even as a dialogue writer whatever I write, I read it as well. If it sounds familiar, I want to change it. But I am still learning and evolving in the writing space because I have only done a bunch of things.
Is there a plan that you have charted out for yourself?
The general plan is to always try and do different kind of roles and not repeat the roles that I have done. That's most boring. And I get offers to do stuff that I have already done. One reason why I jumped on to essaying a DJ in High Jack was because I wouldn't have thought of myself playing a DJ who is tripping and all. I am a complete anti-thesis of that person. As an actor, the attempt is always to put yourself in a situation which is uncomfortable, a role that doesn't come naturally to you. That's the biggest kick—beyond money, success and applause. The exercise of how you transform into a character that you don't at all relate to is the thing that stays with you.
But then you have tasted success after portraying Mickey bhaiya (Mikesh) in Permanent Roommates. What have been the downsides and upsides of success?
I don't really think there are downsides, except that you get a lot of attention. That also brings a certain amount of speculation sometimes (his love life was in the news recently). But that's okay. It is part and parcel of the game. That's a very small price one has to pay for what they are getting—for the amount of love and affection that we get for our work. That's a humbling experience. I am not complaining. Over time, I have also learnt not to let the success and adulation get to my head, and to deal with things maturely. I happened to do something that was very interesting. I was fortunate. But that’s done now. So now, I need to do the next thing which is as exciting as that, because if I don’t then someone else will. Then, people will be crazy about that person. (The attempt is) not to think of yourself in a high-ground and focus on your work.
Does that bother you that you’ll be replaced with someone? Just after Permanent Roommates, you were called the Ram Kapoor of digital space
Yeah. And Amitabh Bachchan of digital… It is sweet. But that doesn’t affect me that someone will come and take my place. It is not my throne that I am sitting on. It is healthy competition if somebody does more interesting work than me. I would be inspired and would want to do more, to push myself. It is actually better if you have that competition around. It’s not good to not have enough resistance around you.
Popularity and fame also requires you to be more responsible. When the news broke about Arunabh Kumar (then CEO of TVF) having exploited girls, I think everyone wanted to hear from you guys (who have worked closely with TVF and Kumar). But most of you kept quiet
I felt that people didn’t really want to listen to us. They had perceived something—right or wrong, black or white. They only wanted to slot you in one corner—whether on the right or left. And also that matter was sub judice. The inquiry was still on. I felt it was really immature to go out and comment about my feelings. I have known that person and I have a certain perception about him. Having said that, I don’t even want to doubt the people who have come out and who have spoken about what they have gone through. I don’t live with that person so I don’t know him so well that I can go out and take a stand, that this person will never do this or will do this. He is a professional whom I have worked with and have had a fantastic professional relationship with. The association has been purely professional. I am not even a party person so whatever social gatherings happened (with him) was also related to work.
People wanted you to speak up though. Did it create a pressure?
There was a tremendous pressure from the press to come out and say something. I had a couple of vans standing down my building. But I didn’t feel the need to comment. I thought it would be immature. I haven’t commented on most things that happen around. In today’s time there is a breaking news every three hours, and I cannot believe that. I don’t want to indulge in that.
Moving on to your upcoming film Veere Di Wedding. Four women and the entire discussion on it not being a chick flick has been on. How was your experience working in a film dominated by four women?
I haven’t worked with four women. I have only worked with one woman, which is Kareena Kapoor, and one man, Shashanka (Ghosh, director). It was lovely. They were very professional about it. I was surprised with the kind of precision that Kareena has as an actor. She was always well-prepared with her lines, and would give cues with the same density even when the camera was not focused on her. I didn’t expect that to happen. But she was there. Also, huge credit goes to Shashanka and Rhea (Kapoor, producer) to have created that environment on the set that you don’t feel that you are shooting with a ‘star’. That it is such a big deal. That shouldn’t be the vibe. The vibe should always be that you are coming together and working on a project. And it’s a fantastic ensemble film. Of course there are actors more famous than the other actors, but barring that it’s a very balanced script.
Do you think it’s been a departure from the kind of films that you’ve done earlier? English Vinglish of course had Sridevi but it was again not a big-ticket film, and Parched, or High Jack?
In that sense, yes it is. This is a musical kind of film with song, dance and lip-sync. It’s been a different experience all together. I haven’t done much of lip-sync or dancing before. I was very nervous about that. I took my time to prepare for it. Because I am also acting with people who are experts at this and are so good at it. It wasn’t intimidating, but fun. It was a new experience.
Do you want to do more of it, or do you want to go back to say something like Ribbon?
No, I loved it. Ideally, I would like to strike a balance between films like a Veere Di Wedding and a Ribbon or High Jack. I don’t think I choose a film thinking of the budget and scale of it. I am interested in the story and the way it’s being made.