Sahil Vaid: People act surprised when they see I can speak in English, it makes me happy and sad | Exclusive

For the longest time, we have known Sahil Vaid as the rustic fellow from the Uttar Pradesh region of India, who is unable to speak in English. During a telephonic interaction with International Business Times, he was able to shatter his screen image. Unfortunately, the actor feels that directors haven't noticed him enough and have stereotyped him as the funny guy of Hindi movies.

But in reality, Sahil is a completely different personality from his on-screen characters. His answers are honest but weaved with decency, and he has a clear voice and a smooth accent which might sound surprising if you begin a conversation with him. 

Coolie No 1 is a challenge not because of Varun Dhawan but the fact that Govinda had set a standard. What do you have to comment on that?

Aah, the old team was amazing, but this is a new film, this is a 2020 version of Coolie No 1. The old team was amazing, right? So this is the 2020 version of the film, it is a remake nobody is hiding that fact, we are not trying to outdo the previous cast in any way, we are just doing our own thing. Even if we tried to outdo the previous cast it will be stupid because let's face it there's only one Govinda, one Kader Khan, those people are irreplaceable, in their own ways. But what we have tried to do is we have tried to bring our own element in this amazing, amazing....that element is us. In theatre whenever we conduct an exercise the first exercise that I do is I ask my students what is special about this room. The kids go around this room, they look at the switchboards and the fans and the lights, they are like there are three switchboards, and I keep telling them to try again. Then I tell them the most spectacular thing about this room is that we are here.

Much like that 1995 Coolie No 1 will not be like 2020 Coolie No 1 because of us, Javed Jaffrey, Shikha Talsania, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Varun Dhawan and Sahil Vaid are the 2020 version of Coolie No 1. There's no challenge, there's no pressure because we are not trying to redo or outdo, we are just trying to do it our way.

From what I can say you are very different from Somdev in Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Do you get this kind of reaction often?

Are you shocked? Because there have been journalists who have interviewed me after Badrinath Ki Dulhania and they were really surprised to hear me speak in English. And I was like yeah but that was a character and it required me to speak that way. That's how it happens.

That happened with Bhumi Pednekar as well? 

Huh, Bhumi, haan that happens and that are why actors get typecast and that's why people don't experiment with actors anymore, that's why all these amazing actors are called comedians, and heroes and heroines whereas all of us are actors, there shouldn't be any bifurcations or classifications, that's what I have always believed and that's what I still believe, so yeah that shock makes me happy and sad at the same time. It makes me happy because it proves that I have been successful in proving them that I'm a guy from UP and I don't know how to speak English but when I give them this interview it makes me sad that they thought that I can do only one kind of role.

My role in Coolie No 1, is closest to what I am. I play Deepak in the film who is actually a mechanic by profession. I dont have to speak English, but I can, and he doesn't pretend to be uneducated. He is like Sahil Vaid is. Very realistic. Again Deepak is not one of those chutki main shaadi dot com types, he is not a college drop out types (referring to his character in Badrinath Ki Dulhania) who is aimlessly helping his friend. He is a mechanic, his friend needs help in a situation and he comes and helps him and in the process finds his love life.

Did Coolie No 1 help you shatter your previous image as the guy from UP who can't speak English?

I don't think so. I really don't think so. This is a question for the director you know.

 

No, I mean it has happened. When Nawazuddin Siddiqui had an extremely minor role in Munna Bhai MBBS, no one had predicted that he would one day dominate in the alternate paradigm of Indian cinema...

Uuh, that's the hope, I mean I wouldn't lie. But I have a counter-question, have you watched Bankchor?

Yeah, but a long time back. And we are film reviewers, entertainment journalists, so we have to watch everything.

Hmm...so you do know that I was the negative character there. The film didn't work for some reasons, but that I still feel is the most different role I have done so far, somebody did experiment with me. Shaanoo Sharma believed in me, and they offered me a different role. In fact I didn't believe in them.

I believe there are other people out there who will experiment with me with time, but Coolie No 1 will make people see that I'm also evolving as an actor and this time in a David Dhawan film. It's not my best day to come, it's not wrong to say that, but I just hope directors start experimenting with me. They say Sahil Vaid can do funny roles but they don't know that Sahil Vaid can speak English like this and he is actually trained in martial arts, kung fu, so it's the Sean William syndrome and I will break it.

But don't you think that in the digital era people are getting more scope, I mean, before Mirzapur we didn't even know that Divyendu was so talented we knew him as Liquid from Pyaar Ka Punchnama. Even Abhishek Banerjee's role in Hathoda Tyagi, before that he always got quirky guy roles.

That's a stroke of luck for him and I'm glad for it because he is an amazing actor. The digital age somehow is missing me. I wasn't called for the tests of Mirzapur 1 or Sacred Games. If I had reached one of those screen tests you would have seen me. And now I know Mirzapur is having a third season, but it's not like a job application, they need to have a role for me.

But having said that all those casting directors know that I can pull of characters. So I'm quite secure in my head, I'm not panicking. And people like Pankaj Tripathi, Nawazudddin Siddiqui even Vikrant Massey, Arjun Mathur, for that matter, I draw inspiration from them and waiting for that one show that would come out. I tried that with Bankchor but no one watched the film, but I hope and I pray, you also pray for me.

Till date, in terms of commercial success, Varun Dhawan has always delivered a hit. But Coolie No 1 is releasing digitally and people have had several opinions. How do you think the entire cast will take it.

Oh well, the cast has taken it very nicely. We were all there at the photoshoot, and we were all happy that the film is releasing. I personally don't see OTT release as a smaller thing than a theatre release, think about this, if the film released in the theatres (now) it will only release in a few places and Amazon Prime being a global exhibition platform, Coolie No 1 will reach various screens. Our film is just going to get more exposure, so it's bigger, not smaller. Having said that, a cinema release hasn't lost its charm and we still look forward to it. Both these mediums have their advantages.