I’m an actor first and a host later

Most of us relate National School of Drama alumnus
ANNUP SONII as the host of TV series, Crime Patrol. In
an interview with SAURABH TANKHA, the Ludhiana-born
actor tells us why he wants to break free from the tag of
an anchor, the learnings at NSD after quitting law
studies, early days in Mumbai, his life and more…

 

On choosing acting as a career
I’d always loved acting but had never thought of it as a career option. The turning point came when my father, who worked with the Steel Authority of India, got posted to Jaipur. It was in the Pink City that I got drawn towards the artform because the cultural atmosphere, especially theatre scene, was very strong. I had the chance of interacting with a number of people from the theatre world. Over time, I started working with a few amateur theatre groups. But even then the thought of being a fulltime actor didn’t strike me. As I came from a non-filmi family, I had no clue as to how should one get into films.
It was while doing my first year of LLB from Rajasthan University that I got to know about the National School of Drama and decided to give it a shot. But I put a self-condition – I’ll be back with my law studies if I don’t get admission in the first attempt. As luck would have it, I got selected. I could have gone onto try my luck in the field without it too but then I wanted to be fully prepared and know the craft well before I stepped into the industry.

 

It was while doing my first year of LLB from Rajasthan University that I got to know about the National School of Drama and decided to give it a shot

 

On joining NSD
No objections were raised when I broke the news of wanting to move to Mumbai from Delhi. This discussion had taken place when I had told my parents about the decision of dropping out of LLB. As NSD was run by the HRD Ministry (at present, it is under the Ministry of Culture) back then, the graduates got first preference with the institutions under the Information and Broadcasting ministry like Doordarshan and AIR as also drama departments of all universities run by the Central Government. This is what I told my parents – that the time spent at NSD will not get wasted and if I want to do a sarkari job, I’ll get it. They understood that I wasn’t wasting three years over something which didn’t have any future.

Days@NSD
The thought of working on the big screen kept striking me for all the three years at NSD. Like most actors, I too wanted recognition, to be known among the masses. Moreover, theatre back then didn’t have the reach as it was not so professional as today. One couldn’t have survived doing theatre. Today, actors can think of doing so but then the earnings are limited. Also, an actor should never limit himself and experiment with all the available mediums. After passing out from NSD, I returned to Jaipur and indulged in local theatre activities there. In 1996-97, I decided to move to Mumbai.
It was at NSD that I got to know about a number of Indian and global theatre personalities through its library as my exposure to the world of theatre had been limited till then. I found that acting is a craft, the more you nurture it, the more enriched you get. And this also happened by watching, reading, observing others closely and understanding life around.

 

 

Though work came my way on a regular basis, I wasn’t getting the roles I expected and was unable to move up the ladder. This was when Balika Vadhu (BV) landed in my lap

 

Life in a Metro
When I came to Mumbai, I wanted to do movies but didn’t like the roles coming my way. Around this time, I was offered Sea Hawks which was being directed by Anubhav Sinha. I agreed due to two reasons: one, I found the role interesting and two, it had Om Puri. Post-Sea Hawks, I got a lot of work so much so I didn’t even have time to think that I arrived in Mumbai, wanting to do films. Before I could realise, around eight years of my life had flown past. Sea Hawks was followed by Saaya, I Love You, Kartavya, Jhoota Sach and Mahayaga, the era of well-written television serials. Back then, television was closer to reality and films over the top.
But then one day, the desire to work in movies returned. And in this phase, I did Gangaajal, Apaharan and Des Hua Pardes, a Punjabi film with Juhi Chawla and Gurdas Mann which won a national award along with Kagaar: Life On The Edge by N Chandra with Om Puri and Nandita Das and Striker, South Indian superstar Siddharth and around half-a-dozen other film projects.
Though work came my way on a regular basis, I wasn’t getting the roles I expected and was unable to move up the ladder. This was when Balika Vadhu (BV) landed. As I wasn’t too satisfied with what was happening on the films’ front, I switched back to the small screen. One of the main reasons of choosing to do BV was its interesting storyline and the makers’ promising it not to be another saas-bahu drama. In no time, BV became a huge hit. Within two years of BV (2008), I started hosting Crime Patrol. Whereas I dropped out of BV in 2014, I continued doing CP till March 2018.
But my inner restlessness to get back to movies started troubling me again. This must be around 2017. By this time, the face of cinema had changed – new stories, new writers and new directors had entered the industry. Also, I wanted to break free from the image of a host the audiences had formed. Though I came on screen as myself, the actor in me never got a chance to show his real craft. I wanted the audiences to know me as an actor who can host too.

 

 

During the making of Test Case, which Ekta Kapoor offered me, with Nimrat Kaur and Atul Kulkarni, on ALT Balaji, I felt my decision to quit Crime Patrol was right

 

Web series and more
This was when Ekta Kapoor offered me Test Case with Nimrat Kaur and Atul Kulkarni on ALT Balaji and during its making I felt my decision to quit CP was the right. The day I quit CP, I started planning to also do theatre. So I connected with Delhi-based theatre producer-director-writer Atul Satya Kaushik who had been in touch with me all this while. I told him about my plan to do a commercial venture with him. Soon, he narrated a suspense thriller plot which I liked. Moreover, this genre hadn’t been explored much in theatre. While Kaushik started working on the script, I got busy with other projects. Once he was ready, we started rehearsals. In October 2018, we opened, Ballygunge 1990, in Delhi and then moved to Jaipur. In January 2019, we reached to Mumbai and soon, corona hit the world. By this time, we had done 42 shows. We intend returning to the theatres when the situation improves after the second wave. The pay was later turned into an OTT movie, Raat Baki Hai.

Changing name’s spellings
This is, courtesy, my mother and a cousin sister. Around four years back, they said just change the spellings and I did it for them. To me, it hardly matters if anything has changed thereafter. I never judge it on parameters. I believe in luck but am not dependent on it. My efforts, before and after changing the spellings, have and will always remain the same. I feel one should keep doing work with honesty and let luck do its work.

 

I believe in luck but am not dependent on it. My efforts, before and after changing the spellings, have and will always remain the same

 

Up next
Satyamev Jayate 2, the official spiritual sequel of 2018 Satyamev Jayate, with John Abraham and Divya Khosla Kumar is likely to release soon. I’ll also feature in a YouTube series which is coming up with its originals too.