New Delhi: Indian cinema today offers a lot to reflect upon and the cinematic content fills a gap in literature in modern society, says veejay-turned-actor Vinay Pathak.
"I think we are making many more movies than what we used to. I feel today in our industry, we have different storytellers, different kinds of filmmakers and different kinds of visionaries. It is a wonderful time for new storytellers to come up and tell their stories in different ways," Pathak told IANS in an interview here.
In his career of over a decade and a half, Vinay has made a mark for himself with off-beat films like "Khosla ka Ghosla", "Bheja Fry" and "Dasvidaniya" and won accolades for his distinctive performances. Before entering films Vinay, along with Ranvir Shorey, used to anchor Channel V's popular show "OYE".
"Considering the wonderful nation that we are, we don't have much in the name of modern literature. Nobody is writing contemporary literature. The last of the writers that I remember were Kamleshwar, Rajendra Awasthi or Manohar Shyam Joshi," Vinay said.
"It's not that we don't have litterateurs, but every generation has had its own literature. Keeping that in mind, our cinema is the closest to having a literature for this nation today. What happened in the 1970s in French cinema, I think that is happening in today's Indian cinema," he added.
The small budget films always have creative space for actors like Vinay and his next "Pappu Can't Dance Saala" with Neha Dhupia falls in the same category. Directed by Saurabh Shukla, the romantic comedy is coming out Dec 16.
He considers himself lucky to be part of what he calls the "metamorphosis" of new age cinema.
"It is this metamorphosis that I am so fortunate to be part of and somehow being instrumental ever since we started this kind of cinema with films like 'Khosla Ka Ghosla', 'Mithya', 'Bheja Fry' and 'Dasvidaniya', 'A Wednesday' and 'Dev D'... This new cinema is here to stay," said Vinay, known for his impeccable comic timing with actor friends Rajat Kapoor and Ranvir Shorey.
While describing the current scene, Vinay got little philosophical and said: "It's the signature of our new image, new storytellers and new story-makers and new heroes of society. They may not be high on morals, but they are high on compassion and that's who we are today. We are one of the world's strongest nations because of our compassion.
"So I think Indian cinema has a lot to reflect upon when it comes to compassion, to the literature of today and the Indians living in India today. They (filmmakers) are saying their things and there is a statement from each one of us individually, community-wise and other groups.
"I am happy with the fact that the wheels are moving. It might be slow, but the fact that it is in motion is wonderful," he added.
Vinay has done only one commercial film so far - "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi", in which he played Shah Rukh Khan's buddy.
He, however, clarifies that he has nothing against commercial films. "I don't discriminate. It is the story that comes first always. I feel if the story is good and is written well, no character can go wrong.
"My philosophy is keep it simple and sweet. That is why I am drawn to a story, something that I could tell my kids and my friends," he added.
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