FILM INTERVIEW: KAY KAY MENON

 

Neha Sarin-Malhotra: You studied science but moved into advertising. What drew you to that?

 

Kay Kay Menon: I think, somewhere in the subconscious, the urge to be in a creative field was there. I won’t know the exact reasons, but at the same time, I loved doing my physics and all. I did my MBA, and I took up marketing where I found my interest in advertising and marketing, but again I realized that advertising is not a purely creative field. It’s more to do with selling a product. So I decided that I won't use my creativity in selling inanimate objects. I’m better at dealing with human emotions and human characters. And any which way, I used to keep doing my stage stuff. So I gradually decided that acting was my calling, and I got into theatre, and I did that play, Mahatma vs. Gandhi, with Naseer (Shah).

 

NSM: Did you struggle during making your mark in the industry?

 

KKM: Struggling is a direct function of aspiration. I went back into theatre by choice, not by chance. There is no question of struggle. Struggle comes when it happens by chance and you are not doing well. I was enjoying the journey. I was enjoying stage. I was working with the king of stage, called Naseeruddin Shah. Then, in films, I had the opportunity of working with Mr. (Amitabh) Bachchan. There are so many positives here, and I was really enjoying the whole process. Of course, if you have aspirations of different kinds, then the route becomes different. If, 15 years ago, I had decided to become a star, then I had to live a different life. I had to make a conscious choice that the moment I stepped out of my house, there would be background score, there would be cameras clicking. All that is something I didn’t want. I wanted to lead the life of an actor who would perhaps be remembered for some good performances, and also subtle changes as to how acting should be. For example, I don’t do dialoguing on stage. I do conversation on stage.

 

NSM: You, along with Irfan Khan, have kind of helped bridge the gap between the two worlds of cinema…

 

KKM: I think I have managed to break the code; that’s why you are perhaps talking about me doing both types of films. I have figured that, in mainstream commercial cinema, you need to triple your own ego. For example, when I did Deewar with Mr. Bachchan, which is a full-on dhan te dhan movie (that’s what I call masala flicks), at the same time I have a hazarron khwashien aisi or a sarkar. You get to know which category or ethos the film is under when you read a script, so accordingly, I triple my ego or I dissolve my ego for a genuine film.

 

NSM: What about the actresses? Who do you like?

 

KKM: Deepti Naval is one of my favorite actresses, who I felt was very underrated. I think Kareena (Kapoor) has a done a pretty good job in the genre that she is working in. I try to place people in their context and talk about them. Rani Mukherjee has done some good work. Kajol, in her stream of films. Madhuri Dixit has been my all-time favorite. I really admire these people. But what I don’t admire is using the media and PR exercises, because you don’t have the mettle to do it on screen. I might seem like a narrow-minded actor, but I am quite open, as long as I can see the sincerity and the purity of what the intention is.

 

NSM: How was it working with Vinay Pathak?

 

KKM: Fantastic! We've known each other for quite some time now. Unlike Bheja Fry, this is Vinay and I doing a jugalbandi, because we are two opposite characters caught in circumstances that we can't escape. So it’s been great fun. We shot 14 to 15 days on a cruise in Sinagpore, and 20-odd days in Malaysia.

 

NSM: Who are your favorite actors?

 

KKM: Naseer, Om Puri, Balraj Sahni, Amitabh Bachchan, some parts of Nana (patekar), Irfan Khan, Dilip Kumar... There are so many of them who are such fine actors. It’s a combination of both mainstream and parallel.