Tisca Chopra, Breaking bad, Acting and Life, from M.IND Mag Jan 2018 Cover
Breaking bad, Acting and Life.
Tisca Chopra is known for her intelligent roles and has chosen to be part of stories that she believes need telling. She has acted in a vast number of feature films, in different languages with many eminent directors. Taare Zameen Par’, her best known feature film, where she plays Ishaan Awasthi’s (Darsheel Safary) mother, was India’s official entry to the Academy Awards.
Photographed by Sukiran Singh
Styling by Who Wore What When
Makeup by Niti Goenka
Hair by Mayuri Nali
MUA Assistance by Pratiksha Nair
Concept by Aanshi Gupta
Retouching by Amritsari
PhotographyShot at WTF! Versova
To start with, one question you absolutely hate in interviews? There are lot of them but since I can only choose one, it’s when people ask me “How much did you enjoy while shooting?” I hate that question because shooting is not really meant for enjoyment; its work. It really is a pet peeve. Is the actor born with skills or the age of fancy acting schools work? Please share your views as you are one the actors who indulges the life of the character. None of the mentioned. At least that is what I think. According to me, it’s a lot of passion and some natural and emotional intelligence. Which side do you think an actor should lean - underplay or overplay? Since big Bollywood names have already picked theirs. I think just ‘play’ works. Whatever is right, the role should just bring out the emotional truth. Every actor perceives that truth differently so there is no question or underplay or overplay. It is how the actor feels; how they will be able to unravel the character’s truth with regards to the situation. It’s what appeals to them and their own personality that comes into play.
‘Taare Zameen Par’ completed 10 years this December. As an actor, how did ‘Taare Zameen Par’ become a part of your growth?
It is the first film that got me noticed on a very large scale. That was what the film did for me. I have done different roles and different things before as well but that is the movie that got me recognition.
What makes you decide you want to take a character?
The story has to work over all. If the story works, the second thing I look into is the role. You always want to tell that story and want to believe in the narrative of that story. The message brings out a lot of emphasis.
What was the most challenging part about your role in ”Chhuri”?
Since we wrote it ourselves; I was one of the writers of the film, it’s a very cunning-cheeky kind of a plot. The idea was to be able to play that part with a poker face. I had to play it straight without giving a hint of what is about to come.
Do you prefer short films story telling as a medium over a full format? If yes, why?
No certainly not. I prefer a good story. The story will decide what the format is; be it long or short.This year short films and digitap content did much better that conventional commercial Cinema.
Is Indian Cinema changing? And why?
I think the audience’s tastes are changing. Indian cinema per se is not changing fast enough. People are watching two kinds of contents; micro content, which is short films and small episodes of the series. The other one would be binge watching; they watch five to six hours of one of their favourite shows. Hindi films will always stay because that’s part of our culture in a way but I think people will start consuming more and more films at their own convenience and it will not be in cinemas so much. It will be larger scale n digital spaces than individual or private screens.
Which artists inspire you and you binge watch their work?
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman from the ‘Sherlock’ series. I love their work. I was an addictive fan of Breaking Bad. As far as films go, Meryl Streep will remain an eternal favourite.
What’s the last full format movie you watched and why did you choose to watch it?
I watched ‘Anarkali of Arah’ with Swara Bhaskar. I heard so much about that film, I really wanted to see it and I loved her alongside Pankhaj Tripathi in it. I also watched Newton.
What do you like to do when you are not shooting? Of course, apart from being with your beautiful family.
I spend quite a bit of time on writing because we are developing two feature films, one web series, so there is a lot content I work on. I like reading scripts as well but these are all work related. For leisure I love listening to music; I really unwind with music. I love reading off-work as well. A book is always welcoming from me. I am always carrying a couple of books around with me, wherever I am.
What’s your philosophy towards work, family, creativity and life in general? YOLO. Do you think that an artist, including yourself, has to be liberal, to get the grasp of the society? My personal opinion is that art is always holding a mirror up to society. If society doesn’t like some of its own parts; art is holding that up for them to reflect it back and show them what is happening in the world. If you curb the whole form of art, it’s a fictional account and you always have the choice to not go see that piece of work. So it’s important that we maintain certain openness and lack of censorship towards art because that’s where we get a true reflection of society. If you had to change one thing in our society, (even through your acting) what would that be? Something actually possible. I think I would look at removing the gender bias. I would very much like for us to have a balanced approach towards women and men. That is one thing which is very crappy about our society. Does being a known face stop you from doing something you really like? Never. I never let it stop me. I continue doing whatever I want to do. One thing you’d be doing if you weren’t an artist? I would be an artist of a different kind. I’d probably be a writer. What makes you feel accomplished? Quantification doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t call it accomplishment. I don’t think anything makes you feel accomplished because that is an ongoing process. I’d rather say there are a few things that bring me fulfilment. What fulfils me is getting the truth of a character, getting a scene right when I’m writing, answering my five year old daughter’s tough questions; when she asks questions about the work and how it functions, I will give her an answer that helps her imagine the world in a better way and spending time with my husband as well. In the sense of career, if you could do it all over again, would you want to change anything? Yes, I would’ve have liked producing earlier.
