This story is from August 22, 2016

Anant Vidhaat: The character actor has a purpose to serve in his limited time and space

Playing what's technically the sidekick, many actors have made an impression as the hero's friend. Among them is the character of Govind, who stands by Salman Khan's 'Sultan' through thick and thin in the film.
Anant Vidhaat: The character actor has a purpose to serve in his limited time and space
Anant Vidhaat (BCCL)
They might be the films' heroes, but it's hard to imagine the Munnas (Munna Bhai), Kundans (Raanjhanaa) and Manus ('Tanu Weds Manu') of the world without their wingmen, the Circuits, Muraris and Pappis. Playing what's technically the sidekick, many actors have made an impression as the hero's friend. Among them is the character of Govind, who stands by Salman Khan's 'Sultan' through thick and thin in the film.
The role has been played by Delhi boy Anant Vidhaat ' an alumnus of DU's Kirori Mal College and its famous drama society, The Players. He speaks to us about yaari dosti in reel and real life.
After Sultan, have you been inundated with offers for 'hero ka dost' roles?
I have had offers to play lead roles in TV soaps, which I have politely declined. Abhi sab kuch bahut fresh hai. Itni jaldi I don't want to get associated with TV soaps. I am waiting to play good characters in movies. Ek baar woh ho jaaye, phir TV bhi kar lenge. I have not received any offers to play a friend and I am also not very keen to play one again. If you see my roles in 'Mardaani' and 'Gunday', they are very different from the one in 'Sultan'. Patli gali se nikalne ka ek raasta hai ki sabko bol do ki jab maine Salman Khan ke dost ka role kar liya, toh ab kisi aur ka kaise karun?
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But what if the offer comes from a film starring another A-lister?
When I was offered the role in 'Sultan', I wasn't that excited. But Ali (Abbas Zafar, the director of 'Sultan') explained his vision of Govind to me. Film mein ek hoti hai actor ki acting, doosra uss character ka presentation by the direction, par sabse important baat hai ki woh character likha kaise gaya hai. Has that character been respected at the script level? Is he contributing anything in the screenplay? Agar yeh sab hai toh zaroor friend ka character phir se play karunga, and if the film happens to be of Shah Rukh sir or Aamir sir, then it would only be the icing on the cake for me.

In 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', many said Nawazuddin Siddiqui, even as a supporting actor, stole the thunder from Salman Khan. In such a case, does it help to cast a lesser star as a 'friend' in a film?
Firstly, compared to Salman sir, I am not even anything close to a 'lesser star'. Secondly, yeh audience level pe hota hai... yeh film iski hai, woh film uski hai. At the actor's level, aisa nahin hota. Ramayan ki kahani Ramji ki hai par Lanka dehan ka scene toh Hanumanji hi karenge. The character actor has a purpose to serve in his limited time and space, while the protagonist is the lambi race ka ghoda. He can't get insecure. Nawaz bhai was required to give that curve in that film and being a tremendous actor, he did that beautifully. Also, one has to be sure what the film is about ' is it about Ram and Hanuman, or Krishna and Balram? When the film is about friends, you cast bigger stars. But here the film is about Sultan. When you make 'Karan Arjun' or 'Gunday', you cast stars of equal stature.
Growing up in Delhi, what kind of yaari-dosti did you have?
I grew up in Maya Enclave. In Class V, I discovered my love for the stage, and soon, from a kid whom nobody knew, I became a kid everybody knew. That boosted my confidence so much that I even improved in my studies. All my school life, I had a good equation with even the sabzi wallah and doodh wallah, aur aaj bhi sabse bahut achha hai, par dost ke naam pe kuch do-chaar log hi kareeb hain.
In college (Kirori Mal College), I joined the theatre society, The Players. I learnt my fundamentals in acting there. The joke was that we were in college to do 'Players (Hons)'. During the long summer vacations, we would all be back (in college) after just 15 days to discuss plays. We would go to Mandi House and discuss theatre over bread pakoras and chai. Wahin se phir CP ya Jama Masjid nikal jaana. Sardiyon mein aur mazaa aata tha kyunki fest season shuru ho jaata tha. Aur ussi Players mein mere senior thay Ali (Abbas Zafar), Zeeshan (actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub), Himanshu Sharma (writer of the 'Tanu Weds Manu' films and 'Raanjhanaa') and Rajshekhar (lyricist), and my batchmate was Divyendu Sharma (of 'Pyaar Ka Punchnama' fame). Aaj bhi milte hain sab toh we remember those days. Whenever I am in Delhi, I try to go to college ki ek baar Keval sir (Keval Arora) se mulaqaat ho ya dekhon aaj kaun hai Players mein. Uss daur ne bahut kuch sikhaya.

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