Having been in the industry for over a decade now, Naveen Kasturia has established himself as a force to reckon with. Known for his exceptional performance as entrepreneur Naveen Bansal in TVF Pitchers, which can be regarded as India’s first popular web show and more recently as a UPSC aspirant in TVF Aspirants, Kasturia has also been a part of films like Sulemani Keeda, Loveshhuda, Hope Aur Hum and more. Kasturia, however, wasn’t aspiring to become an actor, but a filmmaker when he started out.
Recounting his days of struggle as an aspiring filmmaker, Kasturia talked in length about a phase that wasn’t as successful. The worst phase, as shared by Kasturia, was post-Love Sex Aur Dhokha and before Sulemani Keeda happened.
“I didn’t get work after Sulemani Keeda also, but I became more optimistic. In my head, I had become more hopeful, because people around me would say once Sulemani Keeda comes out, things will happen,” he said, in an exclusive interaction with Times Now Digital. The actor recalled how people had started to recognise him because of a TVF sketch back then, but it was a low phase, for he had written a script and was unable to do anything about it.
“The worst phase was when I had written my script and I was not able to do anything about it. I think it was 2010-2011… This is why I went back to ADing also because I couldn’t do anything about my script,” he recalled. The actor said that someone advised that if he aspires to make a film, he shouldn’t fight but be in the system. “Stay in the business, keep working,” he was told.
Unsure of how things were panning around him, Kasturia had also sat for the GMAT exam. “I wasn’t able to understand ki ab kaisa hoga, kyuki log tab script paddte hi nahi the, jo paddte the toh wo khud bhi struggle kar rahe hote the, toh banne ka scope mujhe dikh hi nahi raha tha. If I was in touch with some actor, so the actors took a lot of time and phir mana ho jaati thi,” he shared.
The actor said that it was a difficult time for him, but post that phase, Kasturia landed in acting and that changed a lot of things for him. “I had different struggles then, but I won’t call it the worst phase, I still had some hope. Before that was the worst time,” he said.
Kasturia had once landed in Mumbai to helm films like Dibakar Banerjee’s Khosla Ka Ghosla. After working with him in an advertisement, the actor had then assisted the director on Love Sex Aur Dhokha and also landed a role in the director’s film, Shanghai. Cut to today, Kasturia is winning rave reviews for his nuanced portrayal of Abhilash in TVF Aspirants. Asked if he still harbours a dream to make films, Kasturia shares that he’s now been exposed to a lot of new things. “I’ve become lazier also…” he says, adding, “I don’t know I think filmmaking is extremely difficult. Mujhe toh nani yaad aa gayi thi. I was so glad acting happened warna shayad bana chuka hota,” he said pondering as to how his struggles would have been different. “It takes around 2-3 years to make a film. You’ve to convince 200 other people. And it’s not just creativity, it’s also about selling yourself. I don’t think I am very good at it… to meet people and talk about your own script. In my head, I would compare it to Shawshank Redemption or Forrest Gump, those are great scripts,” he added.
The actor, however, added that he has started enjoying acting and wants to explore it more. “I was also scared of giving auditions earlier. Now, I feel like it’s a part of the job. Like you have to do and now I am getting into details and understanding it all. I think I’m getting better now,” he says, adding, “I want to keep acting till the time I’m getting work.
