Varun Mitra is currently basking in the success of the web series Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo. In the web series, he was seen as Kapil, the son of Rani Baa (played by Dimple Kapadia). He is popular for his work in the web series Guilty Minds and movies like Jalebi, If Only. In a candid chat with The Free Press Journal, he talks about his experience of working with Dimple Kapadia, Homi Adajania, his acting career, and more.
Excerpts from the interview:
When did you come to know that you had been selected for Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo?
I was not sure if I had been selected or not. Me and my friends were camping somewhere. I got the call from Homi, and he narrated the character, but he never told me that I was confirmed for the part. Finally, my team got in touch with everybody, and the contract formalities began. Then, I truly celebrated being part of the project.
How was it working with veteran actor Dimple Kapadia?
She is a supremely chilled-out person. She doesn’t make you feel that she has been acting for decades. By the end of it, she had become one of us... like any other actor on set—it was a calm, chilled, and peaceful situation.
Would you like to share any memories from Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo?
On the last day, when we wrapped up the shoot, we had an extra day left in Jaipur. We were meant to shoot on that day, but we weren’t able to because it was raining heavily. The shoot got canceled. The makers decided that they would shoot in Bombay sometime later. That one day, we had extra time to spend. We all met in the courtyard for breakfast. We sat there from 10 in the morning to 10 in the night. We drank, had breakfast and lunch, and reminisced about the time that we had spent in Jaipur. It was raining and it had become like a hill station. Some hot cups of chai, hot food, and rum in the evening made it a memorable day.
If you had to take some lessons from Dimple Kapadia in acting, what would they be?
Whether it was an accident or a dramatic scene, she was always calm. You’ll never see her lose balance. Some of us were trying to get into the scene and generate emotion. She was just calm the entire time. This is a lesson I would like to learn from her. How to remain calm.
What kinds of genres are you looking to explore?
Well, I would love to do an Army character. I think it’s something to do with my granddad being in the Army. I always looked up to him because he was in the Army.
Did you always want to become an actor?
No, I decided quite late in life. I worked in an export house in Delhi for over seven years. I wanted to be part of the entertainment world, but I didn’t know in what capacity. I always wanted to do travel shows, which I did at the beginning of my career. And of course, the acting thing was also there. It was deeply embedded inside, and I just needed to kind of dig it out and put it on the table.
What were the best parts of working with the filmmaker Homi Adajania?
Homi Adajania has been on my list of directors to work with for a long time. He is quirky, has a lot of energy, and thinks differently, he doesn’t think like everybody else. You get to explore a different side of yourself with Homi. There’s a lot of madness and love. I think that’s the best part about working with Homi he makes you feel loved when you’re on set.
Do you feel any pressure after the success of Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo?
I don’t think so. You don’t know if the project you work on will do well or not. The best we can do is just take a project, do it with all our love and heart, and then surrender to whatever the world will interpret with it. Of course, some expectations can’t be met. In the eight-nine years that I have been in the industry I have learnt that the lower you keep your expectations, the happier you will be. I don’t carry the weight of one success to another project; I don’t like to carry anything from the past to the present project.
What would be your advice to your teenage self?
I would not give any advice because I’m happy with where and how I have reached. I had to experience everything that I experienced. I’ve had a pretty fun life, touchwood. Everything has kind of fallen into place.
