After giving some excellent performances as an actor, Harsh Chhaya has turned director with Khajoor Pe Atke. Released this past week, it is a comedy spurred by events when the health of a close relative in a family deteriorates.
Known for his moving television performances in serials such as Hasratein , Swabhiman and Astitva , Harsh later made an impact in supporting roles in films like Laga Chunari Mein Daag , Corporate and Fashion. Eager to do roles that appeal to his intellect, here he talks about his career, his experience as a director and how he sees the current trend in television programming.
Excerpts
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Though it holds true for each good story, you connect with the audience more easily with comedy. Then, the genre you choose is your personal decision. I wrote it myself and the idea came to me through my own experiences.
I was exposed to a few situations in hospitals where the situation was uncertain and the relatives acted in a weird manner. You cannot do anything except sitting at the hospital and that brings various people together even if they do not want to be together and sometimes in these grim situations, ‘comedy’ happens.
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How different was the experience as a director compared to acting?
There is a huge difference. As an actor, you do your scenes and do your best in the given framework and when the job is done, you go back home and switch off from it. Whereas as a director, you are part of everything right from the script to the publicity. You have to handle each and every problem and you are involved in the project full time. You cannot switch off. But it has its own charm as you do many things and that excitement is unmatchable.
When did you decide to move into direction?
That was part of the plan since the beginning though I acted from my childhood. I have had the professional training behind the camera. I did M.A. in Mass Communication from MCRC Jamia. Kabeer Khan was my junior and Habib Faisal was my senior in college. I assisted some filmmakers, did multiple jobs with different independent filmmakers as a production assistant, did editing, sound recording but acting was my favourite of all and that is why I started off as an actor.
Comparatively, there is more emphasis on character actors in cinema these days …
It should be appreciated.They are not viewed in relation to the main protagonist and there is a separate narrative arc for them which gives them possibilities to harness their talent. It is always said that no role is small but professionally it is all rubbish. If you are a professional actor, your screen time matters and it pushes your career ahead. It directly impacts the actor’s financial needs as well.
But now you are very selective as far as television is concerned...
That has happened in the last decade because I am not creatively satisfied with the kind of work that is happening though the entertainment industry, as a whole, is flourishing. I cannot claim that it is good or bad but I personally do not like it. People are watching it and that is why it is being produced. In my case, joblessness actually showed me the way to make films.
How do you see the difference in television programming from the time you started in early nineties?
There was diversity in that era as a lot of stories were taken from literature while today they are not ready to go beyond the kitchen politics. The content creators hold a view that the reach of television has grown massively and it is reaching to interiors of the country where people have different sensibilities. They have to produce content taking into the consideration their taste and literacy level. But it is a sad way of looking at things. Instead of bringing up their intellectual capacity, they are actually dipping their own creative level.