Interview with Vikas Kumar
By SUNITA VIJAY
Vikas Kumar, an actor, producer, dialogue coach and founder of Strictly Speaking – a dialogue coaching company, is enjoying the sweet smell of success. The euphoric feeling multiplies as he talks about how he is being incessantly showered with praise from famous film personalities, people he bumps into at public places, and comments on social media/WhatsApp groups where his unforgettable role as Santosh in the Netflix series Kaala Paani is being lauded. We have seen him as ACP Khan in Aarya, and Senior Inspector Rajat in CID earlier. But the powerful and career-defining role in Kaala Paani is top-notch. He has displayed profuse acting prowess through Santosh, a role that any actor dreams of. He has made the character genuinely believable, and the transformation of a passive family man into a ruthless survivor is commendable. The emotional connection he builds with the audience makes them cry and feel pity for his plight. His suffering lingers on even after the viewing ends.
Vikas hails from a small town in Bihar. His father, a doctor, always worked on providing Vikas with the best education that consciously provides a good command of the English language. He was sent to Dehradun, enrolled in Hillgrange Preparatory School and then at Welham Boys’ School. So, Dehradun became his home and the peers his family till he graduated. He was a clever student and intelligently surfed through, staying focused. As he stepped out, he started preparing for the medical entrance test, and if the film industry had not beckoned him, he would have been a practicing doctor today. He watched Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge and took a plunge to be an actor. He did a three-month acting workshop under the renowned theatre director, Barry John, and was into theatre and short films soon.
Dehradun days are stored as ‘Kodak moments’ in his mind. Vikas looks at the blue Dehradun sky and unfiltered sun rays. ‘I have always loved Dehradun and its peripheral forests. I want to have a small abode in Doon soon. Development has changed it, but it is still beautiful. The drive from the airport amidst Sal Forests is something you experience only here,’ he chimes in.
Vikas was in Doon after 28 years to attend the Founders’ Day of Welham Boys’, and he gives full credit to his teachers for shaping him during the formative years of his life. ‘My school has contributed hugely to my overall development. Education is not necessarily about textbooks or classroom lessons. Hostel life teaches you to be flexible and adaptable. You learn to adjust with students from all over the country, from different cultures and economic strata, who are placed on the same scale. It teaches life skills. It brings in a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. The bond created exists even today. Plus, the opportunity to be close to nature happened only here through a trek to Roop Kund, hiking experiences, and endless picnics that made me experience nature’s vagaries and beauty, both, forging a connection with our planet. As an active member of SUPW, I would enthusiastically go for tree plantation in Sahastradhara. Interest in music & art form contributed to acting.’ Vikas mentions that ‘Singing, music, and speaking skills helped me as Dialogue Coach’. I would carry the harmonium to John Abraham’s place while voice coaching him for Pathaan. All kudos to my school’s training.’
Dialogue is an excellent way for characters to reveal themselves in the words they use and how they are delivered. His response to how he discovered this trait in him, ‘My voice has always been my strong point. While job hunting, I met people from a Noida-based media house. They loved my voice. They auditioned me and offered me to become a prime-time TV anchor. I told them I was not a trained journalist, but they were adamant about showcasing my vocal skills. Somehow, it didn’t materialise because of my complexion (and he laughs heartily!). I continued my search for acting assignments and joined a call centre for some side income. My flatmate, Honey Trehan, who was directing Raat Akeli Hai disapproved of my working in a call centre. A Hollywood film with a biblical story was to be shot in Jodhpur. Honey contacted the Line Producer visiting India, who was looking for a voice trainer, and recommended my name. It was a God-sent offer. At the call centre, I was given voice and accent training. I put to use that training and did my job well. Destiny designs things for you, we realise later. As practice, the crew members are provided with a badge on the last day of the shoot. My badge read – Dialogue Coach. That day, I discovered that I worked as a dialogue coach and had become one. And there is no looking back.’
Vikas has voice-trained actors like Vidya Balan, Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandez, Kalki Koechlin, and John Abraham, South Indian actors working in Bollywood, cricketers such as Irfan Pathan and Virender Sehwag, and TV personality Ravish Kumar, to name a few. He has worked with all top directors for Ishqia, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, 7 Khoon Maaf, Fitoor and more. ‘Being a professional dialogue coach is an added advantage for an actor where he can modulate the expressions through words’, he avers. This is reflected in his roles in Powder, Khotey Sikkey, Adalat, CID, Aarya, and Kaala Paani, where his acting was always braced with effectual dialogue delivery.
Basking in this success, his eyes lit up as he talks about his part in Kaala Paani, a role that exudes a blend of family love, grief, helplessness, anger, and survival streaks in a life-threatening situation. And Vikas nailed it. The series that underlines the ‘survival of the fittest’ theory is an intelligent work in terms of story, execution, and cast’s performances. Vikas’s standout performance leaves an impressionable mark in the audience’s minds.
His upcoming film is Uljhan with Saloni Batra, directed by Ashish Pant.
So, this is my school mate, senior, living in the same building for nearly six years in Welham Boys’ School. Vikas Kumar, coming from Bihar, excellent in academics. Imagined he would be an IAS officer, engineer or doctor. We see him today in acting. What a transformation. Humble and simple as in school still keeping in touch with all his friends through the Welham Old Boys’ Society. We wish you all the best my friend may you forever rise and succeed! –
Gurpreet Gambhir (Class of 1997 presently a leading interior and furniture consultant based out of Dehradun)
