Amole Gupte, Amole Gupte Kaminey, Amole Gupte Profile

Amole Gupte, Amole Gupte Kaminey, Amole Gupte Profile

Amole Gupte raked up a controversy when Aamir Khan took over his directorial debut Taare Zameen Par, and directed it himself.

The talented artist has since moved on, and now wants to test his acting skills. He will play the villain in Vishal Bhardwaj's Kaminey, starring Shahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra.

He tells Patcy N what to expect from Kaminey, and more.

Have you acted in films before?
 
Yes. I worked in Ketan Mehta's Holi in 1984. There was a lot of talent in that film - Aamir Khan, Ashustosh Gowariker, Yatin Karekar, Raj Zutshi, music director Rahul Ranade, theatre and film actress Sulbha Deshpande's son Ninaad and Rakesh Sarang (who directed Horn Ok Pleassss).

I was a part of Mahendra Joshi's theatre group. The others in this group were Paresh Raval, Feroz Khan, Aamir, Neeraj Vora, Vipul Shah, Aatish Kapadia and Deven Bhojani. Most of us who were a part of Joshi's group have done something creative though we were commerce students in college.

How did Kaminey happen?
 
When I got a call from Vishal's office to act in the film, I thought someone was pulling a fast one on me. But then I was put on to Vishal, and he told that he knew of my past work in Films and Television Institute of India. His team had researched on me and that's what I liked about him. He told me the story of Kaminey and I freaked out. It's a new genre in India.

It is a caper movie with juicy characters. It has the element of thrill, moves fast and has comic elements too. It is about how people react when they are trapped in situations. Shahid has two fabulously contrasting characters in the film. One of them happens to be the bane of my life.

There are many talented actors to look out for in this film. One of them is Tashi, Vishal's friend. Then there is Shiv Kumar Subramaniam, who has written Parinda and Teen Patti. Hrishikesk Joshi who wrote Marathi film, De Dhakka, is brilliant.
 
There's also Deb Mukherjee, who was in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander. I was also part of that film. I did the last commentary, as Tom Alter did not turn up.

Tell us about your character in Kaminey.
 
I play Priyanka's brother Sunil Shekhar Bhope and am called Bhope Bahu. I am a very intimidating, criminally powerful person.

What attracted me most to the film was that it's so unlike me. My character has negative shades because of his circumstances, as his ambitions are thwarted.
 
Being a director yourself, did you ever think you could have done a particular scene a better way?
 
Being a person from the industry, I know that when I am sitting in the actor's seat, I have to respect my director. I can give a suggestion, he can accept it or not. People are going crazy after watching the promo. I hope the film does well.

How was it working with Shahid and Priyanka?
 
They are very dedicated. They reminded me of my days of working with Ketan Mehta on Mirch Masala as an assistant director. All of us tried to achieve the best. At 2 am, Smita Patil would walk in to help us out. I saw that level of participation in these youngsters.

The amount of diligence is also because of Vishal. He's very motivating, that's why he has a great track record.