Neeraj Kabi on Gali Guleiyan, being a late bloomer and his popularity post-Sacred Games

‘When it rains, it pours,’ perfectly sums up the career of actor Neeraj Kabi. Both, fame and work eluded him for fifteen long years but with the success of Talvar, Hichki and Sacred Games – all in a very short span, the actor now finds himself surrounded by selfie seekers. “After Hichki and _Sacred Gam_es, it’s now so amazing to see people talking about the nuances in my performances. You only say, ‘Wow’ and then you feel like doing more work for them. It’s not about getting an award because an award only satisfies you, it does not satisfy your audiences. I won’t even call them my fans because that’s a very small word to use. I somehow feel that you diminish an audience by saying they are my fans,” says the actor. [caption id=“attachment_5169221” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Neeraj Kabi. Image via Facebook[/caption] Neeraj Kabi’s most recent film, Gali Guleiyan, has won accolades at film festivals abroad. It finds him in the role of a butcher who shares an uneasy relationship with his own kid. He is at ease when I meet him at a suburban Mumbai club and like a seasoned professional, he does not bat an eyelid when the publicist informs him about the several interviews he is supposed to do — spread throughout the day. Talking about the film, he says, “It’s a film that deals with the trapped mind of a human being. The protagonist is trapped in his childhood and is unable to come out of it. He is an adult now and is not only trapped in his mind but also within the space that he is living in old Delhi. With this, there are also things like child abuse with the internal journey of this character thrown in.” But Neeraj has waited for long to enjoy the fruits of his labour. Despite having made his cinematic debut way back in 1997 with the NFDC-produced The Last Vision, it was not until Ship of Theseus when he faced the camera again. Quiz him about the long gap between the two films and he surprises you by saying that that no one offered him work. “Staying away from films was not a conscious decision. When I did my first film in 1997, which was an Oriya film, my entire taste towards films changed. I was auditioning before and I kept on auditioning after as well. I met many people and went from door to door, literally, looking for roles. I also did odd jobs and I also did a lot of theatre. I did multiple things in those 15 years and I grew a lot,” says the seasoned actor. [caption id=“attachment_5169231” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Neeraj Kabi in Gali Guleiyan. Image via Twitter[/caption] Neeraj elaborates further and reveals that there was also a phase when he bid his goodbye to the industry. “No one gave me any role in those 15 years but I kept on and on. After a point of time, I actually gave up and that was around 2004 and then opened my own theatre company. I had actually said to myself that I don’t want to be a part of this industry anymore and then Ship of Theseus came along. Those 15 years were actually vanvaas for me but I credit everything to those 15 years. I grew tremendously with my courage and strength.” Not many people know that even before 1997 when Neeraj did his first film, it was in 1989 when he jumped into the world of acting after having made Delhi as his base. Neeraj took the long journey from Jamshedpur to Pune to study commerce. The stay at Pune also offered him an opportunity to try his luck at the FTII but the zero semester at the institute that year proved to be a dampener. “I was trying to figure out on the kind of work that I wanted to do not because of any creative satisfaction but because I wanted to be in the industry till I literally grow old and go away from this world. That’s why my decisions are crucial because if I take a wrong decision, I will not be able to stay in this industry. I want to be with my audience right till the end.” [caption id=“attachment_5169261” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Neeraj Kabi (L) and Saif Ali Khan in Sacred Games. Netflix[/caption] Neeraj mentions that when Sacred Games was offered to him, it was not a difficult choice to make. “In fact, my manager had called me to inform about this series that Netflix was planning to produce based on a book. I only enquired by asking him, ‘What’s this piece of work?’ I was then told about the people who were involved and then my reaction was what more could I ask for.” The actor informs that the recognition he managed through the series was an eye opener to him. He admits that the recognition was there during Talvar and Ship of Theseus but not at this level. “People are now quoting lines from the series and recognising the name of the characters that happens very rarely. Audiences are watching it multiple times and it’s the same as going to theatres eight times.” Meeting a person like Neeraj Kabi also evokes curiosity about his own choices and thus when he is asked to name his favourite actor, he tries to evade the question first but when forced does come up with a reply. “That would be unfair. I won’t name contemporaries but my favourite actor in this country would be Naseeruddin Shah. I don’t think there is any other actor who has such a knowledge and the range. There is one Naseeruddin Shah for me and he is the only representation of Indian acting from the country. If I were to name anybody till date right from the beginning of filmmaking till now, it’s just this name and there is no other name that’s remotely close to this man — films and theatre both.” And we can’t agree more.