By Arundhuti Banerjee
Mumbai, March 18 (IANS) Co-actors bring out the best in him, says actor Saurabh Shukla, who loves sharing screen space with his "favourites" Ajay Devgan and Ranbir Kapoor.
Saurabh has worked with Ajay in the latest movie "Raid".
"I am always in tune with my co-stars because they bring out the best in me. I think I have been very lucky that I have had some wonderful co-actors, whether it is in 'Jolly LLB', 'Jolly LLB 2', 'Barfi!', 'PK' and recently 'Raid'. I have worked with best actors. They made me shine," the National Award winning actor told IANS.
"Raid" is not the first time that he has worked with Ajay.
"During the shooting of 'Raid', I spent around 60 days with him. It helped me to know him as a human being and so, the understanding between two actors always translates into performance.
"Ajay is a very quiet man. He does not open up easily but on set, he interacts with his co-actors a lot. Not only on camera but also off the camera," said the actor.
He said Ranbir, with whom he acted in films like "Barfi!" and "Jagga Jasoos", also makes the shooting experience special.
Having started his career in 1994 with Shekhar Kapur's "Bandit Queen", Saurabh has acted in various films and worked with some of the iconic film directors like Subhash Ghai, Ram Gopal Varma, Kamal Haasan, Sudhir Mishra and Rajkumar Hirani.
In 2013, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film "Jolly LLB 2".
Whether it is his role as Kallu Mama in "Satya", Batuk Maharaj in "Lage Raho Munna Bhai", Justice Sunderlal Tripathi in the "Jolly LLB" series, Tapasvi Maharaj in "PK" and more, Saurabh has always reflected a convenience of carrying out each role.
According to him, the sign of a good actor is when he owns the world of the character.
"As people, we all go through an experience, and when as an actor wee perform, he possibly relives those memories.
"For example in 'Raid', there's a dialogue: 'Yahaan aaj tak koi sarkari officer machchar maarne nahi aaya, aur tum aaye ho raid marne'. It is an insult to the officer.
"In real life, we have all insulted someone sometime in life. As an actor, in my performance, I am creating that moment and revisiting it," he said.
Asked if after so many years in the industry, he feels burnt out, Saurabh said: "No, because I keep the inner child alive, in me. So I never get bored but discover new things about my craft.
"It is an endless process and very interesting."
Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta and also featuring Ajay Ileana D'Cruz, "Raid" released earlier this month.
(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)
