“Honestly this film is everything for me” ~ Vineet Kumar Singh

Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz is all set to hit the screens this week. And for Vineet Kumar Singh who plays the protagonist in the film, the film is his big break. Having played smaller but powerful parts in films like Gangs of Wasseypur and Ugly, Vineet realized that he wasn’t able to show and portray everything he’s got. On his journey to express his complete potential, Vineet Kumar drafted the first script for Mukkabaaz which Anurag Kashyap further developed and directed. The actor has put in months of effort and passion into making the film what it is, along with the Director’s brilliance, Mukkabaaz is definitely the first big film of 2018.

Mukkabaaz

How important is getting a chance in the film industry?

It’s very important. Because it’s not just work, it’s passion. It is directly related to emotion.

Everyone comes with a dream. I also came to Mumbai with my dream and dreams can’t come true without getting a chance. Now i can say “Mukkabaaz” is a dream come true for me. I am really thankful to Anurag Kashyap sir and Anand L Rai Sir, for giving me the chance.

What has been more difficult learning boxing or the big break?

For me, it was this ‘Big Break’, because Mukkabaaz happened after 18 years of struggle and hard work in the industry. I had to become a boxer for this break or Anurag Sir wouldn’t have cast me, so It was easy to learn boxing to get to the end of the tunnel!

Your training video is getting a lot of attention, it’s so amazing to watch your journey on film. How desperate were you to do this film?

Thank you so much for your appreciation, and honestly this film is everything for me, so there is no level of desperation that can define it.

Anurag sir told me “Boxer nahin bane to picture nahi banaunga”.

You spent an entire year in Training. What was going through your mind other than learning to box?

There was no time to think of anything else except boxing. Because Anurag sir told me “Boxer nahin bane to picture nahi banaunga”. Other than boxing I was dealing with my injuries (laughs) and I was observing the few boxers there who were close to my character in the film.

Actor Vineet Kumar Singh and Actress Zoya Hussain at Trailer Launch

You co-wrote the film with your sister before Anurag Kashyap started writing it again. Talk us through the process.

I was looking for good roles after “Ugly” but all the scripts that came to me were more or less similar to the characters which I had done in the past. I don’t know why I was not getting any meaty parts and I’ve always wanted to do different characters on screen but it was not happening.

That’s when I decided to write.

How is it to be on an Anurag Kashyap set?

It’s always full of happiness and sense of satisfaction because Anurag Sir trust’s his actors, he gives his actors a lot of freedom and at the same time every day you learn a lot from him. He is a fearless director and he always experiments and improvises on sets. It is like being in a film school.

“I always wanted to do different characters but that was not happening. That’s why I decided to write.

The film is a socio-political-sports drama how much of your draft did he keep and what all did he add in the film?

He made lots of changes and when he told me “Main apne hisab se changes karunga” I was really very happy because from that moment I felt free to focus only on my job as an actor.

You wrote the songs in the film too. “Paintra” is a big hit. How did that come about? The lyrics are so relevant.
I have written for Ugly too, so one day Anurag Sir asked me to write a desi-rap song, and then he called me at his place to explain some of the things running in his mind for that song and I was recording that entire conversation. After coming home I heard this recorded conversation on loop. I got  a lot of words from that, “Paintra” the word was one of them.

I was thinking nonstop about his thoughts and on the third day “Paintra” was ready.

You are doing another sports Drama – Gold. Tell us about that role briefly?

It’s a very different role from what I have done so far but I can’t talk much about it now. However, it was a great experience working with a director like Reema Kagti. It was an amazing experience to share the screen and learn so much from Akshay kumar Sir.

By the end of Mukkabaaz and Gold you had so many sore muscles and broken bones. Isn’t it scary to have so many physical injuries just when you are kickstarting a big film career?

It’s scary, I know. When I was doing my training in Punjab for Mukkabaaz, the coach used to say that “Injury boxer ka gehna hota hai” now I can tell my coach I have some ornaments (laughs).  I think everything will be good at the end and I myself am a Doctor too.

Mukkabaaz    

                                                                                                                                     
Give us 5 tips to stick in the film industry and keep your dreams alive.

• Be healthy.
• Always believe in your dream.
• Work on your craft.
• Be confident. And,
• Never give up.