We weren't given a script for Soyrik, characters are nameless, says Shashank Shende

Leading men and women are important since the story revolves around them. But character actors are equally indispensable when it comes to advancing the plot. Over the years, Shashank Shende has become a go-to name in Marathi cinema when it comes to character roles, be they playing positive or negative. 

Makarand Mane’s next project, Soyrik, sees the actor play a tough-as-nails police inspector. He is also one of the producers of the film.

The movie stars two newcomers, Nitin Chavan and Manasi Bhawalkar, who play a couple that attempts to tie the knot against all odds. 

Shende opened up to Cinestaan.com about his career, the experimental manner in which Soyrik has been shot and the devastating wrought by the second COVID-19 wave, among other things, in a long, freewheeling conversation. Excerpts:

You had worked with filmmaker Makarand Mane in Ringan (2017), Youngraad (2018) and Kaagar (2019). Both of you are close friends as well. Has your friendship reached a stage where you no longer read the script before agreeing to do his films?

For this film, the actors only knew the concept; nothing else. This was the first film in my life that I signed without reading the script. Nobody had read it. In a way, the project was ambitious. Only Makarand and the cinematographer knew what we were supposed to do. We didn’t even know where the story was heading. We were told at the start that we wouldn’t get the script. He also said that we could work only if we could give 15 days on a trot. 

Also, he said he couldn’t tell whether an actor would be required to shoot for all 15 days. It might be one, 10 or 12 days. Makarand used to decide which actor he would require the next day. For example, he would give us a situation in a police station and would ask how we would react in such a situation. Then he would give his input on how it could be done differently. I found this experiment very interesting. I used to do this kind of thing in plays. But we can’t use this process in cinema. But Makarand did it! 

So how would you describe this film?

To put it simply, the film throws light on human relationships. All characters have come with their unique past. We also get to know their future in real-time. They don’t speak out about everything. And there are around 50-52 actors in the film! Even if an actor has had just one scene, he or she has ruled that scene. 

Another interesting part about the shoot was that suppose both of us are talking and in the background, two other people are speaking. I can see them speaking. Later when the camera focuses on them, we are also seen talking because all this is a part of one premise.

What exactly is your character in the film?

I am playing a police inspector. The fun part is that no names were given to the characters. You won’t even realize this while watching the film. My character is a catalyst and because of him, the story keeps moving.

How did you prepare for the film without a script?

There was absolutely no preparation. It was like blind faith. I don’t know if the actors were more focused because of this insecurity. Whenever I get the script, I go to the sets with baggage. I read the script once or 10 times. In Makarand’s films, I am involved right from the writing process. We discuss the script and my character automatically gets developed in my subconscious mind. 

But this was not at all the case here. We didn’t know if a character is grey, white or black. Makarand only used to say that these were just people. I liked this because once you say that he is just human, you see all shades in him. He can be emotional, ruthless, manipulative etc. 

How do you prepare for films generally when you are given the script?

I believe in reading it repeatedly. I once saw an old interview of Naseeruddin Shah where he said that a script doesn’t become yours if you don’t read it a hundred times. Hundred isn’t possible but I at least read it 10 to 20 times. There is irritation at times. But then you start noticing the fun elements in it; those small details that you mostly can do only in plays.

I have seen a practice in today’s times where actors only highlight their parts in the script and they read only that much. But this is of no use. 

In today’s times, I like Geetanjali Kulkarni’s work a lot. I have only seen one film of hers – Court (2015). You don’t feel anywhere in the film that she is acting. Her performance was like sugar getting dissolved in milk. And this is very difficult. She might have been tempted to try a few things but she didn’t. In the entire film, she was the most memorable for me. There should be an unlearning process. 

Actors are tempted a lot to give a certain look while doing something. They have these kheedas [bad habits] of giving reactions like, “Hmm”, “oh”, “achha” even when the other person is speaking. Do you hear such things in real life? Never!

What do you look for in a project before agreeing to do it?

Money is one thing [laughs]. Jokes apart, if I have time for a project, I try not to refuse. I prefer working with new directors as compared to the seasoned, experienced ones. The kind of risks they take a seasoned director won’t be able to. That’s the best part of working with Makarand. Although he has done four or five films, he isn’t a seasoned director. He encourages us if we wish to experiment. But you can’t do this with seasoned directors. 

The film has some experienced actors but the leads are played by two newcomers, Nitin Chavan and Manasi Bhawalkar. How was it working with them?

They have done very well. I had seen Nitin in Lagir Zal Ji [TV show]. I had never met him before. He is a very sincere guy. I also saw the craze of his fans while shooting. We were shooting in a bungalow in Shripur. On the third day of the shoot, when people came to know that Nitin was there, we had to deploy police and bouncers. Manasi is a theatre actor. Her father Uday Bhawalkar is a very good singer. She sings and acts well. But she didn’t bring her father’s baggage to the shoot.

You have worked with Chhaya Kadam before as well in Redu (2018) and recently in Nay Varan Bhaat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha. 

As an actor, you should be unsatisfied, and she is like that. That’s why it is enjoyable to work with her. A film like Redu wasn’t hers. It was more about my character. But despite that, she agreed to do the film. She played her character in such a way that at one point, you feel it is her film. She was like a guide for me in that film. I had no connection with the Malwani dialect. But she taught me like holding my finger. 

We also did Bharat Majha Desh Aahe. After a point, harmony develops between two actors. She always surprises you as an actor. 

Like every other actor, your films also couldn’t be released due to the pandemic and the shutdown of theatres. How challenging was this phase for you mentally?

It was challenging both as an actor and a human being. I have another completed film with Makarand called Poraga Majetay. It bagged awards at the Pune International Film Festival. But it’s also stuck, just like how Soyrik was. We were frustrated while making Poraga Majetay during the first wave. We discussed this film over the phone and opted to do it after producer Vitthal Kale decided to back it and asked us to raise some funds. 

But when we completed the film, the second wave had arrived. This period was terrible for me. I lost five people from my family, including my father, aunt, brother-in-law and cousin’s daughter. In the month of May [2021], a few deaths happened in a span of one to two days. My life was washed out. At such a time, Soyrik came as a cure for me as it was difficult to come out of it. We have to live on. The situation was such that you couldn’t even question anyone as to why it happened and why it happened with me. So one has to overcome and move on.

Do you get offered web-series?

I get offers. But the issue with web-series is that they want three months of your time and from that they will ask for five days in the first month, eight days in the second and 12 in the third. Hence, all your calculations about future dates change. I don’t do films that come to me at the 11th hour. I sign on for projects six months in advance.