Manav Kaul says he has been patient for good roles

Mumbai, Jan 04: Actor Manav Kaul says he always takes a year-long break before starting a new project as he believes right opportunities come to those who are "extremely patient".

The 44-year-old actor first rose to fame with his turn as a right-wing politician in the 2013 drama "Kai Po Che!" and got further acclaim for his performances in films like "Jolly LLB 2" and "Tumhari Sulu".

In an interview with PTI, Kaul said the key to consistently doing good work is not about going on a signing spree.

"When you do a good film or give a performance which people really like, the repercussions is that all the writers and directors want to cast you in the same role. That you've be patient enough to nicely refuse and wait for the right opportunity.

"I always take that gap... of a year to do my next. You have to be extremely patient. You can't just be on a signing spree. I have to put my heart and soul into it and be passionately invested in a project."

For Kaul, even the love and appreciation that came his way for "Tumhari Sulu" -- in which he played Ashok, the supportive husband to Vidya Balan's Sulu, an aspiring radio jockey -- didn't entice him to be part of more films.

"I again went on a break, but then suddenly interesting scripts started coming. You'll see a lot of good stuff coming out in 2021 across OTT and films," the actor, who made his digital debut with 2018's Netflix horror series "Ghoul", said.

"I am lucky I have been patient for good roles. Today I feel more fortunate that people have started considering me in a lead role and think I can pull off a film or a series," he added.

The actor's latest release is "Nail Polish", a courtroom mystery drama, in which he stars as Veer Singh, a man embroiled in the allegation of murder of children.

Kaul said when director Bugs Bhargava Krishna narrated the script to him over a Zoom call during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, he thought he wouldn't be able to pull off such a "layered" character.

"The script was stunning. But I felt it was incredibly tough and thought I won't be able to do it. I just didn't know how to perform it. (But) Bugs had complete faith in me. So when we started the rehearsals, I kept reading the script which was so well researched.

"I asked a lot of questions about my character and kept talking about him with my director to truly understand him. In the end, it worked. This (project) was something that I was craving for," he added.

The ZEE5 Original film also stars Arjun Rampal, Rajit Kapur, and Anand Tiwari.