When the windy breeze is blowing in through the rolled down windows, with unending fields on both sides of the road and the sky above, a horizon that is unreachable but definitely worth witnessing, the world seems to be moving as the wheels roll, but you sit still with a soul full of ‘impatient peace!’ Sometimes the most scenic and soul-feeding roads are the detours you take in life that you didn’t mean to take up. Unplanned trips and spontaneous adventures always turn out to be the best ones. See it’s all about the Safar which matters! The journey that you make, because the greatest part of a road trip isn’t about arriving at a destination, it’s about being in that moment of truth! It’s about being ‘impatiently peaceful’ in the present because your Safar always begins with you and will always end at you. You never know what life has planned for the future. You never know what the next trick of surprise is bagged for you. A miracle awaits; destiny is like a magician's hat! But such a turn of events in life always falls in favor of those who have the will to embrace them, who have their self-belief unscathed and are able to give what it takes.
One such inspiring yet whimsical journey that we came across when we were in conversation with the most admired and adored actor on the internet web space, Amol Parashar. With the internet filled with influencers these days, very few actually influence! Amol stands out to be that inspiration for young artists across the globe. He's one of the finest actors our generation is witnessing now. The actor, who is known for his cheeky character ‘Chitvan’, will always be remembered. The Actor not only won the 'Best Actor' award at the Ireel awards by News18 in a comic role, but he also took the ‘Most Promising Actor’ award at WBA Group Awards for his hilariously quirky role in 'Tripling' and 'Tripling season 2' produced and created by The Viral Fever. We reconciled the fact that Amol was also seen in the well liked comedy-drama film Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year alongside Ranbir Kapoor that was released in 2009. Amol gave a splendid performance in the role of ‘Sai’ and way back at that time he made an impact with his subtle characterization.
He is one of the most quintessential actors of our Indian film industry. A true gem for the viewers, with witty punchlines and rib tickling moments, he has made a special place in our hearts. Amol did his engineering from the prodigious institution, IIT Delhi. Talking about the roller coaster journey of his professional life, he said “I was always invested in theatre, while I was in Delhi I used to read a lot of plays and go through loads of scripts.” To this he added, "Once you get into an IIT your family and you yourself at times feel like you'll get a great job and probably lead a stable life. But I was glad that I discovered theatre. I was always invested in extra-curricular activities. I didn't think about it much but my passion for acting eventually developed and now I’m doing what I was passionate about, I wake up to a job that I love to go to!"
The IITian turned Actor, made us realize that we must map out our future, but map it with a pencil, so that we have that second chance in life to erase those things that aren’t necessary and overstep the potholes that might come along the road. To etch a sketch that we always wanted to witness, to make it look like our own dream that we wanted to live. The problem is, as a millennial generation when it comes to deciding our own future, we always decide our packages, we create an imagery filled with materials along with fancy salary brackets but very few actually decide their ‘future’, a future you wish to live for.
The road not taken by Robert Frost said “Two roads diverged in a wood”, if we had to reframe the quote in an Indian context it would have been “Two roads diverged in a wood, one said Medical the other said Engineering.” That is because we as a society always look for ways that have minimum chances of failure, we may not fear taking risks, just that we have an affinity towards having more secured options. Whether it is our subjects that we opt for or jobs that we pursue. We always look for stability. Stepping out of a conventional 9 to 5 disrupts the long lived theories about life, when we asked Amol about his career decisions that he took early in his life, he said, “When I told my parents ki maine kuch nahi socha hain, they were worried, they were concerned for a few years. They are still worried,” he laughed and said, “because I had no rigid career plans and obviously parents want their children to lead a secured life, tumhe padhaya likhaya, ab stable job dhundho, why are you getting into such uncertainty?” He quoted every Indian parent. “I knew people and friends who had already quit their jobs and were doing theatre, so yes! That validation ki job toh chodhi jaa sakti hain that confidence came in, ab kya karna hai agay that was a bit uncertain”
It was finally when Amol decided to take up a job in Pune so that he could experience theatre in Bombay as well. He started doing theatre plays in various festivals alongside he was doing a job. For two months he was exploring the city. He said, “When I came to Pune, I came with a laptop and a mattress; I just crashed at my friends flat for the next two months. Those were the days when I got to know about the reach of the art form, I discovered Prithvi Theatre, I went to shooting sets, and I got to know about casting, auditions and a lot about the industry, eventually I never went back after that.” What is the most significant thing to know about from these anecdotes is the fact that Amol had little expectations from this shimmering city of hopes he said, “It can get stressful if you are expecting a little more from everything; we often give ourselves deadlines that are strict and impractical, we derive stress when we start taking things seriously and hold every problem to its throat. I had not given myself any deadline; I worked with a fearless heart, mai kabhi bhi chodh ke jaa sakta hun to do my job if something doesn’t work out.” So true because as they say for peace, inner expectations shall come to an end, well expectation is the cause of all heartaches! “The films, the shows, plays or ad-films were like brownie points, Yeh toh sab extra hain!” he said.
As he was surfing across the sky of skepticism he had accepted this life as a bonus treat for him from the destiny, he always felt that every day is a gift, and the spirit to make the most out of it eventually came. “It felt like I earned a bonus life,” he said, and added further “It all boils down to what you believe in at the end, it boils down to the question of having enough patience, ab itna confidence toh hain mujhey khudh pe, ki kaam ayega and I’ll definitely make it!” He laughed with a pinch of nostalgia in his eyes. When we asked him how he ended up collaborating with TVF for the web series he told us, “Firstly I used to think that I’m the only one who has left IIT, his job to pursue a passion for craft, I thought I was the only one who was fanatically passionate about acting, but I met people like Vipul Goyal, Biswapati Sarkar and many of my likes who had skipped and left their 9 to 5 jobs to do something more creative, they were craving for that creative satisfaction too.” Things were happening in favor of Amol like it was a domino effect, with TVF building its own brand identity in the initial stages, Amol was gradually setting up himself on his own, “Yes, after a point I thought I should be able to get my rent going on my own and put off the burden I had laid on my friends flat.”He smiled. He even told us a few insights and about the process of ideation, he said, “It doesn’t matter for TVF what the brand is saying or what the producers will say. The liberty to create a new masterpiece makes it a special place, they work very scientifically on their scripts and they are a sort of creators who still believe in the charm of good scripts. We are always happy to shoot! Even when they have become a big company, they work even more critically on their concepts and manage to portray that quality of work every single time. They can go over and over again on little things until and unless everyone is happy and everybody agrees to it. They don't want to let their audience down! They don’t write scripts and concepts for the heck of it! They won’t go for a Theek Hai until they get the perfect shot.” The web sensation will be next seen in Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare which is an upcoming Indian comedy satire Hindi film that also features young actors like Vikrant Massey, the well knowns Bhumi Pednekar and Konkona Sen Sharma. No doubt, Amol’s next venture and future projects will definitely be as hilarious to witness as the previous ones were. We wait eagerly for his next upcoming shows. ! As they say, only those who have the will to climb a hill, can actually climb one, all it takes is self-belief. A man who is looking for a much cooler name other than “A man, no plan, no clan” for his own novel if one had to be made, he laughed, a man who is onto his own Safar waiting impatiently but at peace as he sails from one destination to the other, embracing every chance and making it into a masterstroke was caught candid at “Catch Them Candid; Unscripted. Unaltered. Unheard.”