Actor extraordinaire Kay Kay Menon talks about playing a car thief in Sankat City and the acting challenges ahead

Does Sankat City refer to Mumbai? What’s the sankat (danger) that you face in the film?

Sankat City refers to any city like Mumbai - it has a wide spectrum of happenings. It is a comic caper with an element of thrill in it. It’s a story where one thing leads to another and most of the characters in the film end up facing a sankat. Engaging and entertaining, that’s how I would describe it.

Heard this is a very unusual role for you. What have you brought to it this time?

I play a car thief called Gurunath in Sankat City. Before playing any role, I try and humanise the character first. I put form into the character, make him breathe. I don’t believe there is just good or just bad to any part - it has to be a bit of both.

You like to work with first-time directors, don’t you? As is Pankaj Advani, the director of Sankat City. Looks like you have an affinity for first-timers.

It’s the other way round perhaps - first timers always approach me with projects. I have worked mostly with first-time directors. Directors of today’s generation have a different way of looking at things that are not stereotypical. They come up with stories that are diferent from what we have seen earlier. They touch upon unique subjects.

As for Pankaj - he is a very intelligent filmmaker and his sense of humour is quite mad. Having been Kundan Shah’s assistant, his filmmaking has a certain finesse.

This is the first time also that you are teamed up with Rimi Sen. How did it go?

Rimi is fun to work with. She’s a completely cool girl. We shot in a garbage dump in Gorai. It’s the first time I saw a garbage dump of that kind! It has huge mounds of garbage and we had to shoot the whole day inside there! I thought that being a heroine, Rimi may be fussy but she was absolutely fine with the location.

‘Excellent as always’, is how most film critics describe you. Does that weigh heavy on your shoulders while performing?

I don’t carry it with me at all! I attempt a film with all sincerity and honesty and I try and keep a level-headed approach towards work. I would rather have genuine praise than false ones. So, if I do a bad job, I should be able to take it on my chin.

What has been your takeaway from Sankat City?

I don’t take away anything from a film, I try and give it as much as possible. I don’t subscribe to the much-used philosophy of learning every day. I don’t think everybody learns every day. There are things that one also unlearns. But Sankat City has been an experience that I would cherish.

Your character Riz Raizada in Drona didn’t thrill even your die-hard fans. Was the Drona debacle a big disappointment for you?

There are roles and genres you attempt - sometimes you succeed in reaching it out to the audience in the way you want it to and at times you don’t. I am yet to see an actor, including Robert De Niro, who has not had a bad performance, but that’s fine as long as good performances outnumber bad ones.

Your release slate for 2009 indicates that you are increasingly being considered for lighter roles. Has that been a deliberate policy?

I have chosen films that come to me, and lighter films are being offered now. After Sankat City will be Aage Se Right and then Hook Ya Crook.

How was your first meeting with David Dhawan who’s directing Hook Ya Crook?

When I met David for the first time I took to him instantly because there are very few people who start a conversation with a laugh, I found that very endearing. I felt he will make a warm film. I have seen his earlier films but in Hook Ya Crook, he’s attempting a different genre. It’s a jail-break film - it’s more of a plot-oriented film.

Are these the times of character actors or do stars continue to rule?

This question perplexes me - does that mean that other actors in the film are characterless? Ideally, every role you play should have a character.

Courtesy by: Screenindia