A ‘pitcher’ full of talent.

The young talent of TVF’s ‘Pitchers’ fame, Naveen Kasturia is having a rollercoaster of a journey. From working as an assistant director to starring alongside one of Bollywood’s biggest names like Naseeruddin Shah in Adhiraj Basu’s latest short film ‘Int. Café Night’, Kasturia has come a long way. The 12-minute movie, which also stars Shernaz Patel and Sweta Basu Prasad, is a gentle story that depicts love, loss and reunion.

Born in Otukpo, a small town in Nigeria, Naveen was brought up in a Delhi. After graduating he joined an analytics firm where he worked for two years before moving to Mumbai in 2008. In an interview with The Hans India, Naveen speaks about sharing stage with Naseeruddin Shah and his newfound fame post ‘Pitchers’.

Excerpts.

You are portraying a young Naseeruddin Shah in the film. Did you do any research on his mannerisms for the role?

When I received the script, I knew I would be portraying a younger Naseeruddin Shah. So, I did my research. In the film, both of us trying to bite the lip, but it is very subtle and accurate and Adhiraj suggested that. It was done during the rehearsals. Once we rehearsed at Naseer sir’s home and the other time at the director’s place. And, it was finalised.

Any memorable moments from the shoot?

It was just a one-night shoot. We started in the night and around 9-10 am we completed the shooting. The entire night was memorable for me. There is a sequence in the film where I reprimand Shah. I am taunting him and I am a little unhappy about what he has done (when he was young). That part was kind of sarcastic. It was like I was scolding Shah and it was very interesting thing for me.

When we wrapped the shoot he came up and hugged me. I was really thrilled. I will never forget that. Of course, (a few) people know me now. But, it was 2014 when we shot this movie. And, I was only a beginner. So, it meant a lot to me.

How did the role happen?

I think it was Adiraj and Shweta who wanted me in the film. They had seen ‘Sulemani Keeda’ at ‘Mumbai Film Festival 2013’. They wanted to meet me and check if I would pick the part. They somehow felt that I might look like a younger Naseeeruddin Shah.

How did the acting bug bite you?

Actually, I did not come to Bombay to become an actor. I wanted to be a director. I used to work as an assistant director and in one of the films I met Amit Masurkar. And from there ‘Sulemani’ happened. I’ve also worked on quite a few commercials as well. During that time, I read an interview of Arnubh of TVF and met him; eventually we became friends. My first digital appearance was in ‘Rowdies’; I played the part of Rannvijay.

I got a good response for my acting stints. That gave a boost and here we are now.

How has life been post ‘Pitchers’?

‘Pitchers’ got me lot of recognition. The internet audience has seen the show and we received compliments from the film industry as well. I wasn’t aware that ‘tu beer hai BC’ would get that kind of response. We were only focusing on that line because it was the name of the episode.

Do you prefer films or web?

Of course, I want to do films. In fact, I started with films. 'Sulemani Keeda' made me an actor. The thing is, web or movies, the medium does not matter. I am a very story obsessed person and ultimately, it comes down to the script and the role.

Navin Pivhal