Sumeet Vyas: I dont want to be the nice guy any more

Written by Anushree Majumdar | Updated: June 20, 2018 7:07:12 am Sumeet Vyas was last seen in Veere Di Wedding.

How did you land the role of Rishabh in Veere Di Wedding?

Rhea Kapoor had seen some of my work before, and Shashanka Ghosh, our director, later told me that she was very keen on having me on board. I didnt know anything about the film when the casting director Mukesh Chhabra asked me to test for it last year. We were supposed to shoot the film earlier, and Kareena (Kapoor Khan) was close to her due date — initially, her pregnancy was going to be incorporated into the film — but the idea was scrapped.

Would you say youve played this kind of character before, a seemingly ordinary person, but with a strong sense of himself? Theres always an underlying sense of humour at work too — is that written in the roles or is that who you are?

I think its in my head. I tend to see the humour in situations, I try to curb it sometimes, but I suppose that comes into my body language and performances too.

With Parched, Ribbon and Veere Di Wedding, youve worked in three woman-centric, two women-ensemble cast films, with different stories and budgets. Do you think women tell their stories differently than what men imagine womens stories to be?

Yes, I think so. Theres a palpable sense of warmth in a women-centric storyline or narrative. And Veere Di Wedding has been the most successful of any film Ive been in — the box-office sales on the opening day were more than my last three films combined.

You are a web-series pro and an indie actor. Whats it like to be in such a mainstream film?

The hotels where they put you up are much, much nicer. They feed you so well, and you feel like you better do a good job because theyre taking such good care of you. The level of professionalism is outstanding, everybody is there for a reason. No time is wasted, unlike what happens on a small-budget project, where the production quality can take a hit. But theres joy in doing those films as well, because they are quite collaborative compared to a big-budget film, which may seem a little colder, and without any collaboration. You do your job and
you leave.

Youre getting more popular each year, and recently, your personal life has been under the scanner in tabloids. How do you go about maintaining a sense of privacy in this industry?

Im unpleasantly surprised that my life has become the fodder of gossip I used to engage in with my friends (laughs). But what I worry about the most is how does this affect the other person who is being written about as well. I want to protect them. I usually ignore it and the only time Ive given a statement is when the tabloids decided a wedding date.

You want to direct films, dont you?

Yes, but its going to have to wait a bit longer because taking direction up at this point might be detrimental for my acting career. I dont want to do comedy or romance; I want to get out of my comfort zone. As for acting, I am being offered roles similar to what Ive done before, the nice guy. But, I dont want to be the nice guy anymore. I want to play a grey character who looks perfectly normal, and I hope people read this and cast me as a bad guy.

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