When he was a kid, Sukant Goel couldn’t help but mimic the artistes he saw on the screen. He would effortlessly pick up voices and gestures of the actors, especially from Kishore Kumar classics like Half Ticket and Padosan. Then came the American hits: Back to the Future, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, in addition to Doordarshan’s Ramayana and Mahabharat. “I think I just enjoyed the love and attention that came my way,” says the actor who was “enveloped by theatre” over the years and has now become addicted to the craft of cinema.
This passion for performance finds an expression in his latest film, Kaisi Ye Paheli, a murder mystery appreciated in international film festivals and released in theatres recently. Known for his powerful portrayals in films and shows like Kaala Paani and Monica, O My Darling, Goel is excited about his first lead role in a feature film. Based in Kalimpong, the film tells the story of a policeman, Uttam, whose lonely mother uses her love for detective fiction to help him solve a murder, revealing deeper truths about motherhood and family secrets.
It was the film’s “bizarreness” that drew Goel to the script. “Also, the element of surprise and the conviction it carried in its writing. When I first read it, I was left with more questions than answers,” he reflects.
Filmmaker Ananyabrata Chakravorty came to his rescue, but not in the straightforward way that Goel had expected. “He had such clarity,” Goel says, “but he left enough gaps for me to explore. That was intriguing.” The internal world of his character was what disturbed him the most. “I was not familiar with this intense anger or depression that the character is going through. For instance, he is silent for a long time, something I don’t get to do a lot. Yet, I wondered if I could use the fragments of these emotions that I understood to comprehend the character.”
Kaisi Ye Paheli brings together seasoned actors like Rajit Kapur and Sadhana Singh, who is making a comeback on the silver screen in a lead role after decades. “I have worked with Rajit a lot in theatre and love him as an actor and a person,” he says, “Sadhanaji plays my mother in the film, but she looks nothing like her onscreen avatar. She is absolutely gorgeous in person.”
Equally inspiring were regional performers from North Bengal and Sikkim, who left Goel spellbound. “These were artists who didn’t come from, say, 15 years of working in cinema. They were raw, yet they could be moulded and knew how to deliver a shot in front of the camera. There was a lot to observe, and it was good to understand what the simplest of methods could do to a scene.”
All this unfolded in the picturesque backdrop of the North East, which he admits was another highlight for him too. “We shot in Sikkim. It’s my favourite state right now, and I was thrilled to spend 25 days there,” he exclaims.
When he is away from the lights of the camera, Goel loves to idle. “I could be just about doing anything, from taking care of my house to spending time with my friends and cats. I watch a lot of plays and can be found at the rehearsals and readings of other artists,” he says.
As for the future, Goel remains ambitious, constantly chasing stories that connect with him. “Sometimes I want to do a gangster film, while at times I want to do a sports film. There are also times I want to do an Iranian film! How does that sound?” he asks in jest. Sounds good, indeed.