Shishir Sharma on playing Vasishtha: No one can fathom the magnitude of Nitish Tiwari's Ramayana
Actor Shishir Sharma is amazed with the grandeur of Nitish Tiwari’s Ramayana, where he plays Rishi Vasishtha. Actor Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Ram in the film.
Actor Shishir Sharma is amazed with the grandeur of filmmaker Nitish Tiwari’s Ramayana, where he plays Rishi Vasishtha — guru to Lord Rama, which is played by actor Ranbir Kapoor.
“It’s such a huge and larger-than-life project. The sheer magnitude of the film is so huge that you are left stunned with the magnum opus it is. No one can fathom it. To be sitting there with the entire team, it feels great that you are part of something this big — you feel blessed to be involved with projects like this,” says the actor, who has films such as Chhichhore (2019), Raazi (2017) and Talwar (2015) to his credit.
Sharma says that he is just going with the flow. “I have never done mythology before, and the team has researched everything very well. So, I am just following the directions in terms of posture, body language, tonality and the sur of the character. It’s an important role and I am going with the flow, as explained by the director. The catch is for the makeup. To wear the looks of a mythological character, it takes at least 1.5 hours. I am a no-makeup person, but my look must be right, and every time there is a shot, continuity must be maintained,” says the actor.
The actor has been shooting for the film since April and will probably continue to shoot till the end of next month. Besides, he has a couple of other projects lined up. “I have completed the film Pune Highway with actors Amit Sadh and Jim Sarbh, Sant Tukaram with actor Subodh Bhave, Songs of Paradise on the first woman from Kashmir to sing on radio and Bagawat with actor Rajniesh Duggal, which was shot in Lucknow,” he ends.
‘It is a big struggle to release a short film’
The actor won the Best Actor honour for his film Dvaita: Duality screened at Lucknow Short Film Festival, but says the struggle for shorts is big.
“It’s unfortunate that you make a fantastic short film and there is no platform to showcase it. A 35-minute film won’t go in the theatre or on OTT, so there are no takers. It’s a real struggle. At festivals, it earns accolades, but there’s no way out. My award is a boost for the entire team, but I don’t know how such films will reach the audience, as the makers invest their money, actors devote time and work on less or no fee. For four years, we have been trying to find a platform, but to no avail. Kuch toh hona chahiye for the short films too... dukh hota hai,” says Sharma.