Embodying the word ‘chameleon’ might just be second nature to actor Priyanshu Painyuli, the star known for numerous roles across OTT and the big screen. As Robin in Mirzapur, he showcased a certain quirky yet serious personality amid a bloody world of violence. As Bhavesh Joshi in the now-cult vigilante film Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, he is the voice of a generation, an immovable force who does not rest to attain justice, even if it means losing his life. More recently, his role in Pippa, as Major Ram Mehta, Priyanshu really pushed himself to great lengths, depicting the horrors and bravery of a soldier who turns into a prisoner of war. Even if it means switching between projects, this artiste just does not miss! With the tides changing with the turn of the year and a month already in, Priyanshu does not rest on his laurels as he itches to remain creative in between releases with some exciting projects of his own. Case in point, his now-streaming vertical web-series ZomCom. With this project, Priyanshu turns writer and director, creating short episodes amounting to a total of 20 minutes, engaging viewers in a gripping tale of a man turning into a monster-like personality. Highly experimental in its visuals and with even deeper subtext layered under, the filmmaker breaks down the project with an exclusive chat about this experimental project. He also delves into his lesser known Bengaluru connections and a ritual he follows every time he is in the city, what motivates him to pursue different acting roles every single time and peek into his upcoming feature-length directorial debut, Jaagar.
How did you come up with the idea for ZomCom? What inspired you to explore the vertical format for the series?
I think, I am personally a guy who loves experimenting as an artiste. Something new is always refreshing. But the core always remains storytelling for me. I’ve studied filmmaking from SAE Institute in Bengaluru and I always have been into making things — be it writing or directing. Whenever I’m not acting, I am sitting at home writing, directing or doing something creative with my friends. The idea is to just keep telling stories. I love creating original stuff, something which fuels me creatively. When this vertical drama idea came up, it was very exciting because normally, we see everything horizontally. I think, the challenge was — how do you tell stories here? How do you now hook the audience? People are always hooked to their phone, but they just want to swipe. How do you hold them through a story format? How do you engage them with a few characters? Therefore, just to experiment with this format, we decided to jump into it.
With all the episodes now out, what can people expect from ZomCom?
You know, I keep banking my stories and concepts. So, I narrated this thing to my friends, who are all professional actors. I said, guys, “I have something like this, where a guy is going crazy.” There’s a lot of subtext to it, like how people today are actually becoming animals, living in these crowded cities. If you’re going through a struggle — say, your lover is leaving you because you don’t have work or you’re not doing well professionally, a lot happens with a person. In my head, it was about a guy who kind of becomes a monster and how his loved ones and his friends are the ones bringing him back to being a human. So, going into it, we thought, if we’re using this new format, let’s also attempt a new genre. Let’s not stick to telling stories which we have told on television or OTT, or even on the big screen; let’s jump into something different. Vandana (Joshi) and I are big fans of zombie movies — so, we said, let’s experiment with that.
Your characters are always very unique. Rarely do you see two successive roles being alike. Which of these characters has stayed back and impacted you the most?
I think, it depends on how long you’ve been working on that character. With something like Mirzapur, it was very tricky. When you go into Mirzapur Season 3, to shoot and become Robin again, because it’s been a couple of years in between, by the time it gets edited and comes out, I’ve already shot something else. I had to actually go back and watch my own scenes and realise, “okay, this is how I did it that time.” This is how you bring that same character back, what his tonality was, his body language was and how he used to speak — at least, I get a reference there. With Pippa, it became very intense. For me, after the shoot, you need a break; I can’t do projects back-to-back. It’s easier to shed something away when you take a nice break and then jump into the next one. But the deepest, I think, something which I spent a lot of time with was Dev’s character, which I essayed in Sheher Lakhot. During the shoot, I lived in only that one hotel room for those four months. When you spend so much time with a character, it’s very interesting.
Jaagar, your feature-length directorial debut is making all the right noise. What can you tell us about it?
Vandana and I have our own production company since last year. Jaagar, the first project is almost ready. It is set in Uttarakhand and is a story of the mountains. We’ve got a lot of good senior people from the industry who are supporting us in it, as well. It’s an independent film, but it is a proper film for the big screen. We will be releasing it in India later this year.
Your Bengaluru connection is something that people are still learning about! Anything you still reminisce about from the city, while living in Mumbai and a ritual you follow without fail whenever you visit?
I try to make visits often. I’ve literally grown up in Bengaluru. My introduction anywhere across the world has always been, “I’m a North Indian from South India.” I’ve actually lived mostly in the South in Bengaluru and all my very close friends from school to college are in Bengaluru. My older sister lives near Whitefield. But the first thing for me is to get down and have a nice, proper dosé with sambar and chutney which you don’t get in Mumbai. That taste is very different. There’s something about the right dosé, the right crispiness, the right softness, that chutney and that delicious sambar, paired of course, with a cup of piping hot filter coffee!
ZomCom is streaming on his social media. Jaagar will release later this year