It's difficult to handle all this attention: Manav Kaul

Theatre director, playwright and film actor Manav Kaul says he still does n't know how to handle all the attention, specially that from girls, showered on him ever since he's played the roles of Bittoo Uncle in Kai Po Che and a parallel lead alongside Rajkummar Rao as Vishnu Sir  in City Lights.
READ:I like to surrender to director's vision: Manav Kaul
“Abhi bhi I am surprised when people shout out to me and call me Vishnu Sir.I get embarrassed when they say they loved me in the two films," says Manav, who was in Lucknow recently . “It's in fact difficult to handle all this fan-fare and attention. I'm a very private person, almost an introvert. I don't socialise, I don't go for parties. So when people invite me, I don't know how to react. It's surreal," says Kaul, who says he never expected this kind of reaction to his in City Lights. “I was supposed to be a villain, but yahan toh logon ne mujhe hero bana diya."
BASKING IN THE NEW FOUND: Apart from being a theatre and film artiste, Manav is also an occasional painter.“Maine kabhi struggle nahi kiya. I won't call my life spent in Mumbai as being very difficult. It's like a story . I went up and then down and then up again. Itna struggle toh har outsider karta hai Mumbai mein. Jaate hi toh sabko kaam nahi milta,“ he says about his professional journey , “But yes, there have been many times when I have slept on an empty stomach, but on hindsight, I feel it's added to my personality , to my character and to my life. Also, all those experiences have contributed immensely to my direction and writing. And in return, mujhe bahot kuchh mila hai. I have traveled to New York, to Korea to do theatre, I have seen the best."
Listen to the songs of Kai Po Che on Gaana.com
He adds, “I love this industry too much.It tells you on your face your true worth. So if you are important, they give you all that there is, but if you're not, nobody's gonna look at you. They're not actually hypocritical and they don't have time to compensate you with something else. If you're good you're in, if you're not you are out! As simple as that. And I love it."
AN ACCIDENTAL ACTOR: For the time being though, he's enjoying his stint in Bollywood, late as it may have come.But acting was never on his mind, says Manav, when he came to Mumbai. “I'm a very idealistic person. If I get into something, I do it completely. I don't do anything half way . I put my heart and soul into it. And the roles I was being offered initially weren't ones I could have done full justice too. But what happened is that the industry changed a lot. When I was offered Kai Po Che, I felt the change in the way the story had been told, the way it was conceptualised and I thought I could like something of this sort. So my acting journey actually started in 2013. Right now I'm investing my mind, my heart and soul into acting. Jab isse mann bhar jayega tab sochunga kya karna hai,“ says Kaul who's acting in Bejoy Nambiar's Wazir along with Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar.“I'm enjoying the shooting thoroughly . I'm doing a couple of big films and only ones in which I can do something different and interesting," he says with a smile.
NEVER NO TO THEATRE: But Manav is very sure that however busy he may be with his film assignments, theatre will always remain his first love. “Theatre main kabhi nahi chhodunga. And the best thing I have realised is that as an actor you have a lot of time at hand. In between shots, in between travelling to shoot locations, ek actor ko bahot time milta hai to do what he pleases. So, main bhi uss beech mein plays likhunga," he says.
A HOT OLD MAN: But the theatre director says there's little chance of him directing a Hindi commercial film. “I'm waiting to get old. Tab I know I will make fantastic films. But I don't think I'll make commercial films, which is the Bollywood that I know. I won't make a typically masala Bollywood film because as a director, I feel I have a very strong opinion about the things I'm saying and I want to say those things convincingly ," he says.
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