Sumeet Vyas Interview: People I work with and stories I do are things which matter a lot to me!

Actor and writer Sumeet Vyas , who is popular for his well-received web-series Permanent Roommates, will soon be seen in the Hindi film Ribbon . Directed by debutante Rakhee Sandilya , the film also features Kalki Koechlin in the lead role. As the movie races towards its release on 3rd November, BollywoodMDB correspondent, Mohnish Singh, sits down with Sumeet for a candid conversation about his film and much more.

Q. Tell us something about your film, Ribbon?

A. This film is essentially about an urban couple living in the city of Mumbai. The film traces their lives from the first year of marriage to fourth or fifth year of marriage. In the meantime, they conceive a child and have a child. They are a working couple. Both are very ambitious and busy people. So, how the pressure of the city, the pressure of family life and pressure of keeping the romance alive takes a toll on their relationship is what you see in the movie. You see the relationship deteriorating in the film. You see the ribbon getting loosened day by day. How they manage to tighten the ribbon is what forms the crux of the story. The title of the film is very symbolic. It is very metaphoric.

Q. You juggle digital, television and now films. Which medium satisfies you most?

A. I think medium for me is little irrelevant. What satisfies me is the story which I am being part of and the people I am working with. That is very, very important for me as that is my takeaway from every project. I am not going to remember how much money I made from a particular project or how successful it was because that is not in my hand. What is in my hand is that I can decide what kind of people I want to work with and what kind of stories I want to be associated with. It has to either enrich me or destroy me. So, what I enjoy and what I don’t enjoy is the process, which is why I am little choosing on taking up work.

Q. You have worked with almost five babies throughout the film. How was it to work with them?

A. It’s a very freaky experience. Handling toddlers was slightly easier than dealing with little grown-up babies because they would understand their mother is leaving and they are left with two strangers. But Kalki Koechlin was very good at dealing with babies.

Q. When you ventured into the world of entertainment, what you wanted to be, an actor or star?

A. I was an editor before foraying into acting. I must be 16-years-old then. When I turned 17, I started doing theatre. I have been doing theatres for a long time now. So, this star thing never struck me, because I never thought I was a material for it as stars were such larger-than-life actors when I started acting. They had good bodies. They were larger-than-life people. They had a persona. I was a very normal guy so I didn’t see myself doing all those things. I still don’t. Whatever attention I have gotten so far is because my audience doesn’t think I am a star. They find me like them, a normal guy. So, that has worked for me more and I am happy for that.

Q. You are a writer also. So, does that ever happen that the writer in you overpowers the actor in you and you try to change something in the script or in your lines?

A. No, I don’t like to change things. At times, what I like to do is to make a few lines or dialogues more conversational. Sometimes, when writing dialogues, people tend to go overboard. So, I tweak them as for how people speak in real life. But before making any change, I speak to the director and ask her whether it will be fine if I say this life this way. That is probably the only thing I do at times. I don’t like meddling with others’ work because I wouldn’t like if somebody does the same with my script. I respect others’ work. I prefer to make some changes only if the writer is on the sets.

Q. Apart from writing and acting, is there any other area of filmmaking that you want to try your hands at?

A. I really want to direct. I am not able to manage time because direction is a way more taxing job. I want to start directing short films. I like making fun short films. They are fun to watch. We made some such films in the past like Haircut and Oye Teri. They did pretty well. So now that has given me the confidence that at least I can do this. And I enjoy doing that, telling short and sweet stories and entertaining people with that. And if that works, I will also tell longer stories in future.